Things got intense again between India and England just before the lunch break on Day 3 of the ongoing Oval Test. India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal was involved in a heated exchange with England’s Zak Crawley after India finished the opening session at 189/3. Australian legend Ricky Ponting criticised Jaiswal’s behaviour, calling it unacceptable.
With one ball left before the lunch break, Jaiswal, standing at the non-striker’s end, began showing signs of discomfort due to a hamstring injury and was seen speaking to skipper Shubman Gill.
As the over ended and players started walking off the field, both Crawley and stand-in captain Ollie Pope tried to confront Jaiswal, suspecting that the injury complaint was a tactic to waste time. However, the youngster ignored them and made his way toward the dressing room. What seemingly triggered him was Crawley’s gesture, which led to a heated exchange before Gill stepped in to calm him down.
The commentary box didn’t shy away from addressing the situation, and it was Ponting who appeared most frustrated by Jaiswal’s actions during the final ball of the session.
“When things like this happen, and players start playing with the fabric of the game, it’s amazing how many times that game comes back to bite them. This is not acceptable,” Ponting said.
Ponting further criticised the Indian side for what he believed was double standards, referring to their complaints against Crawley for similar behaviour during the Lord’s Test. He was firm in his stance that Jaiswal’s act was deliberate time-wasting.
“And as you would expect, there is a bit going on here between these two teams and fair enough. I didn’t like what I saw there with wasting time in that last over. Especially at the back of what happened at Lord’s when India complained about what the English batters did,” he added.
Despite the heated moment, Jaiswal returned after the break and went on to smash his fourth Test century against England. His 118-run knock was instrumental as India were eventually bundled out for 396 in their second innings, setting a 374-run target for the home side.
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