London, August 2 (H.S.): Prasidh Krishna, India's fast bowler, described his verbal exchange with England's Joe Root on the second day of the Oval Test as light-hearted, though he was surprised by Root's sharp reaction. While England was at a strong position of 129/2, Root came to bat after Prasidh dismissed Zak Crawley.

After Prasidh delivered an impressive ball that beat Root, he made a comment in his follow-through, which prompted Root to respond by hitting a four and making verbal remarks. Following the over, umpire Kumar Dharmasena asked Prasidh to explain the situation. Prasidh stated, “I just said, ‘You are batting really well,’ and it escalated from there.”

He noted that the intent was to distract Root from his game but did not anticipate such a strong response. He enjoys engaging in conversations while bowling, and believes it can impact the batsman positively. Prasidh expressed his respect for Root, calling him a giant in the game and acknowledging that exchanges are normal when both players strive for victory.

England's assistant coach Marcus Trescothick downplayed the incident, noting that Root typically responds with a smile but reacted differently this time. He also commented on other minor disputes during the match, including Akash Deep's gesture towards Ben Duckett and an exchange between Duckett and Sai Sudharsan. Ultimately, by the end of the second day's play, India had scored 75 runs for 2 wickets, taking a critical lead of 52 runs.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar