Akash Deep ended a rampaging opening partnership between Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley by dismissing the latter but it is what he did after that which became a talking point on Day 2 of the fifth Test between India and England. Deep punched the air after getting Duckett caught behind before putting his arm around the batter’s shoulder and walking a few steps with him.
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They also seemed to briefly exchange a few words in those seconds before KL Rahul pulled Deep away. Umpire Ahsan Raza also had a word with Deep after that. It was the last ball of the over and Shardul Thakur could be seen having a chat with Deep while he was fielding at the boundary the next over.
On-air commentators Mike Atherton and Dinesh Karthik both seemed to not really approve Deep’s behaviour. “Given Duckett a bit of a send off which is probably unneccessary but it is the wicket that India desperately wanted,” said Atherton.
Dinesh Karthik lauded Duckett to remain calm and not make too many big gestures. “Not sure if this is the right way to send off a batter especially after you’ve got him out. Not many batsmen would behave the way Ben Duckett,” he said. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting later said during his stint that he likes Duckett even more now for the way he handled the situation. “I love the way Ben Duckett plays his cricket, I think I like him even more now!” said Ponting
Karthik later opined that it was almost like the pair knew each other really well and were having a friendly chat. England batting coach Marcus Trescothick applauded Duckett on his way into the dressing room. Trescothick later seemed to be jokingly indicating that Duckett should’ve elbowed Akash Deep.
The incident was only one of quite a few heated moments between the Indian and English players during the latter side’s innings, something that has been throughout the five-Test series that the hosts lead 2-1. After the Duckett incident, Joe Root and Prasidh Krishna got into a lengthy battle. The pair could be seen saying visibly unfriendly things to each other as Root crossed Krishna while taking a run. There was also a long steely stare shared between the two in Krishna’s next over after the pacer. The umpires ended up having a word with Krishna as well.
Gill had said before the match that the relations between India and English players, many of whom have played in the IPL t0gether on multiple occassions, haven’t been affected by the spice of the series. “The relation is fantastic, but when you are on the field, you are trying to win a game at the end of the day, and both the teams have been very competitive and sometimes when you are competitive in the heat of the moment, you do or say things that you might not do [otherwise],” he said. “But once the match is over, there is mutual respect between both teams.”
