"That kind of question from Anderson was really surprising" - R Ashwin and R Sridhar
Indian ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took to his YouTube channel to discuss India's recent monumental 151-run victory against England at Lord's. In the second Test that ebbed and flowed throughout, the visitors came out as eventual winners on an eventful final day to take a one-nil lead in the five-match series.
A lot has been made about the "war of the words" incident that took place between Jasprit Bumrah and James Anderson at the end of day three. In a grand ten-ball over from Bumrah, Anderson was on the receiving end of some chin music from the Indian pacer. After taking a blow on the helmet, the veteran wasn't best pleased and exchanged a few words with Bumrah.
While there's been a lot of chatter about what really happened between the two, Ashwin on his YouTube channel tried to break down his side of the story. According to Ashwin, here's what Anderson told Bumrah in the middle:
"Hey mate! Why are you bowling so fast? Am I doing the same to you? All this while you were bowling in the 80mphs and suddenly on seeing me why are you bowling in the 90mphs?"
India's fielding coach, R Sridhar, explained that Anderson wasn't too happy with Bumrah breaking the unwritten rule between the fast bowlers and delivering a few beamers. He added that Bumrah isn't the kind of player who would intentionally hurt someone and in fact, it was Anderson who initiated the battle and is known as player who likes the chirping non-stop.
The two also made it clear that they were baffled by Anderson's question, with Ashwin adding, "That kind of statement coming from Jimmy Anderson was a surprise to me."
England took that Anderson incident very personally: R Ashwin
Ravi Ashwin admitted that the game changed drastically after the 3rd day. England were in the ascendancy but what happened on the field really riled up the Indian players and got the team together in the dressing room. Sridhar also admitted: "It sparked a fire in everyone and the effect was visible on day 5."
"England took that Anderson incident very personally. Bumrah said he didn't even know what happened but all of us got together and told him what Anderson said to him and that riled us up. What happened next was extraordinary," said Ashwin.
"If you go after one of our guys, you are going after the whole team, all eleven of us will come right back,” said KL Rahul in his post-match interview. This Indian team, led by Virat Kohli, really embodies a fighting spirit of never backing down and ensuring that they fight fire with fire. Well, in this instance, it certainly seems like England are bearing the brunt of adding fuel to their own fires.