India and England have clashed on the cricket field on multiple occasions, leading to ugly spats
In the world of cricket, if there is any rivalry that is as ugly as what India and PAK share, it is the rivalry between India and England; not even the Ashes come close in terms of emotions. After all, England, being India’s former coloniser, still behaves as if it owns India on the cricket field. It is evident in their body language, as was witnessed recently during the last game of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy.
Given India celebrates its 79th Independence Day this August, we look back at ugly sledges that took place between India and England on the cricket field, and India did not hold back.
(Credit - The Daily Jagran)
The Anderson-Tendulkar trophy ended in a draw, but not without drama between the two sides. It all started with England’s time-wasting tactics at Lord’s, which provoked Shubman Gill to sledge the English batters. Mohammed Siraj also did not hold back after dismissing Ben Duckett, whereas Ben Stokes tried to stop Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar from getting their respective centuries just because the match was not going in England’s favour. Even Prasidh Krishna and Joe Root engaged in a spat.
The Test series was dubbed as one of the finest and fiercest played in cricket’s history.
(Credit - India TV News)
We all know what happened after India won the NatWest 2002 final against England at Lord’s. Sourav Ganguly took off his t-shirt and swung it above his head on the Lord’s balcony, breaching the sanctity of the gentlemen’s game. In a conversation, when Geoffrey Boycott questioned Ganguly, Dada answered, “One of your boys (Flintoff) also took off his jersey here in Mumbai. Lord’s is your Mecca, Wankhede is ours.”
Another incident involving Andrew Flintoff, one of the T20 World Cup games in 2007, saw Yuvraj Singh and Flintoff engaging in a verbal spat. However, the next over, a young Stuart Broad had to face the wrath of Singh provoked by Flintoff. Nobody in the England side was able to laugh after that incident. Eventually, India won that game.
(Credit - ESPN Cricinfo)
In 2021, the fourth Test match between India and England, played in Ahmedabad, witnessed a verbal exchange between Virat Kohli and Ben Stokes. It started with Ben Stokes passing a comment to Siraj, who had delivered a bouncer that rattled Stokes. Although Siraj did not say anything, Virat Kohli chose to make a stand for Siraj and got into a lengthy, heated exchange with Stokes. Later, when Stokes lost his wicket, Kohli taunted Stokes, which led to another exchange.
(Credit - The Independent)
During the 2014 Test game at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, James Anderson and Ravindra Jadeja got into a verbal exchange that also led to a physical altercation. The incident began with Anderson making comments about Jadeja's catch. The two players got into a fight in the corridors leading to the dressing room. James Anderson was accused of abusing and threatening Jadeja, but the lack of video evidence led to both players getting fined.
