80:Former England cricketer David Lloyd &
Ben Stokes-led England hammered India by 7 wickets in the rescheduled fifth and final Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Tuesday. With that win, England levelled the five-match Test series, which started last year. While India dominated the five-day match for the first three days, the hosts bounced back strongly and stunned the visitors in the last two.
While players from both the teams brought the best out of them and we saw superb cricket in the middle, the match was also marred with controversy on Day 3 which erupted after India's former skipper Virat Kohli got engaged in a heated exchange of words with Player of the Match Jonny Bairstow. It all happened in England's first innings of batting when the batter was struggling to find some momentum against India's pace attack. Virat Kohli, who was stationed at slips, didn't shy away from coming hard on the Englishman and shared a few words which provoked the Englishman.
Virat Kohli was seen gesturing Bairstow to 'shut up and focus' on batting. However, the two sorted out their difference after the match and shook hands with each other after Bairstow sealed the game for his side with his twin tons. In a recent development, former England cricketer David Lloyd has taken a sly dig at Indian batter by stating that if any player feels the need to get engaged physically they should instead take up cage fighting.
In his column in The Daily Mail, Lloyd wrote: "I do sometimes wonder where the line is and who draws it. Sportsmanship, banter, gamesmanship, boorish behaviour, insults, abuse.. We saw everything on the fourth day. Of course, cricket is a non-contact sport and the trader is safe in the knowledge that he or she can't get hurt. But if a player feels the need to engage another, my advice would be to take up cage fighting and have a proper go. Let's see what you are really made of?"
However, the former England cricketer also congratulated Virat Kohli for putting the verbal spat behind and recognising Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow for the 'epic job they had done.' "Special mention for Virat Kohli, who is the proudest and most combative Indian cricketer," he added in his column.