Sharmistha Gooptu in London
The day after the Gambhir-Fortis blow-up… We are at The Oval, watching the Indian team warm-up after the captain’s press conference. As expected, a few questions were directed at Shubman Gill about yesterday’s episode where the pitch curator had instructed the Indian team members to maintain a 2.5m distance from the pitch, resulting in Gambhir’s outburst.
A spot of a drizzle had led the ground staff, led by Lee Fortis, to cover the pitch and lower the practice nets. But that was done with, and the full Indian side, along with head coach Gautam Gambhir, arrived for the warm-up. Gambhir looks relaxed and is seen exchanging words with Gill and Jasprit Bumrah.
Just ahead of me, a broadcast anchor arrives for his show from the ground. His first words to his camera person, said with a grin, are “Fortis, India and the weather!” Fortis had stood at the extreme end of the nets, observing the Indian side closely, through the warm-up and then throwdowns, and occasional grins exchanged with his own colleagues.
A raucous mood had prevailed on the Indian Indian side, with loud shouts, teasing and light-hearted boisterousness. Even the normally staid Gill was seen participating in the banter, laughing. Throughout, Fortis was observed, watchful at the other end of the ground.
The Indian side has clearly evinced a moral victory in yesterday’s episode and it was evident in their body language. As also carrying the vindication of one and all (including the local media) after England’s display or poor sportsmanship at the end of the last Test. The broadcaster just ahead of me and audible at my distance, made a comment about the head coach’s “supercilious” attitude.
This is contentious, though the issue has tapered off as of now, with questions around Bumrah, the playing XI for India, and England’s side for tomorrow in the absence of Ben Stokes, taking precedence. However, given how things are now poised and battle lines are drawn, Fortis, the curator who became the showstopper, is sure to rise up once more — if things get heated like the last Test and questions get raised about spirit and bias.
They inevitably will be!
Follow Revsportz for latest sports news