Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has thrown barbs at Shubman Gill's behavior during the third Test against England at Lord's, indicating that the young batter's on-field altercation with Zak Crawley sparked a fire within the English team that in the end influenced the match in their favor.
In a tweet on X (formerly Twitter), Kaif pointed out that Gill's exchange of words with Crawley at the end of Day 3 seemed to spur England's passion.
Gill had accused English opener Crawley of delaying play deliberately, which resulted in a heated argument. The confrontation, however, seemed to have rebounded against India as Ben Stokes came back with an aggressive bowling performance that enabled England to win the thrilling match by 22 runs.
"Shubman Gill's battle with Zak Crawley charged England. They were questioned about their batting, bowling and captaincy after Edgbaston. But that moment ignited Stokes and bowled motivating spells. It is better to keep the attitude that suits you. Gill will learn this the hard way," Kaif tweeted.
At the same time, former England captain Michael Vaughan also commented on Gill's performance during the match. In his column for The Telegraph, Vaughan noted how the normally calm and technically-capable Gill seemed agitated when he came in to bat during the fourth evening.
"Once things got hot on the third night, I think that brought the best out of England for the rest of the match," Vaughan said. "Shubman Gill did not appear to be as technically neat or composed as he has been when he emerged to bat on the fourth night, but his team battled so hard on Monday in a great Test."
Gill, previously in incredible form throughout the series—scoring a century at Headingley and then a record-breaking century and double ton at Birmingham—could not find that form at Lord's, scoring only 16 and 6. As much as he struggled, India came close to an incredible victory thanks to a gritty fightback by Ravindra Jadeja and the lower order.
England, though, rode the momentum change which was initiated by the Day 3 drama and was able to seal a tight win in an otherwise exhilarating series thus far.
Read also| Kumble on Lord’s Loss: ‘Jadeja, Not Siraj, Should’ve Taken the Risk’
