Featured Image Credit: Getty / ESPNcricinfo
Topics: Cricket, England, Ben Stokes
Ryan Smart
Prasidh Krishna has revealed details of his heated row with Joe Root during the fifth and final Test between England and India at The Oval.
India closed day two on 75 for two, leading by 52 runs in their second innings.
They had earlier been bowled out for 224 early in the second morning, with England bowler Gus Atkinson taking a five-wicket haul.
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In reply, England raced to 100 inside 15 overs, with Zak Crawley hitting an aggressive half-century.
But there was still plenty in the pitch for the bowlers, and their last eight wickets fell for 105 runs as India's seam bowlers took control.
Root, England's joint-top performer in the series thus far with 432 runs, made 29 before he was trapped lbw by Mohammad Siraj.
But moments earlier, a furious confrontation between the former England captain and Krishna went viral.
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Root guided the ball through the slips for four to get off the mark from his sixth ball, but clearly took issue with something Krishna said from the bowling end.
The pair squared off in the middle of the pitch, with umpire Kumar Dharmasena forced to intervene.
The Sri Lankan was then seen having words with India vice-captain KL Rahul, who appeared to be questioning what Krishna had done wrong.
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After stumps at around 7:10pm, the India pace bowler was placed on press conference duty for his side, and gave his version of events.
He attempted to play down the incident and claimed that the words he exchanged were 'just banter', explaining (via ESPNcricinfo): "Well, it was a very small thing. I think it was just a competitive edge that was coming out.
"Both of us are good mates off the field. It was just a bit of a banter, and both of us enjoyed it.
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"I didn't really expect a couple of words that I said to get such a big reaction from him. But I love the guy that he is. He's a legend of the game, and for him to come out there... it's great when two people are out there and wanting to be their best and be a winner."
Krishna later added that he told the England batter that he was 'looking in great shape'.
While the cameras didn't appear to show that Root did enjoy it, England batting coach Marcus Trescothick explained that he had spoken to the batter and said that the words exchanged were nothing out of the ordinary.
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"It was nothing that you wouldn't hear on a normal game day, or anything like that," Trescothick said. "It was nothing serious to worry about, no."
England currently lead the Anderson-Tendulkar Test series 2-1 after winning two of the first three Test matches.
There have been numerous flashpoints throughout the series, starting with the third Test at Lord's which England won.
India were less than happy with England's perceived time-wasting on the third evening, with captain Shubman Gill confronting openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett.
And in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, England captain Ben Stokes exchanged words with Ravindra Jadeja after the India batter declined a handshake to end the game early as a draw on the fifth day, as he and batting partner Washington Sundar were closing in on memorable centuries.
Stokes said afterwards: "I think all the hard work was done by India. They both played incredibly well.
"It got to that point where there was only one result and there was absolutely no chance I was going to risk any injuries to the fast bowlers with one more game to go.
"I wasn't risking any of my frontline bowlers for that last half an hour."