Jofra Archer has revealed what he said to Rishabh Pant when giving the India wicketkeeper a fiery send-off following his dismissal on the final morning at Lord’s.
Archer, playing his first Test in four years following a sustained run of injuries, delivered a decisive blow on the fifth morning, which began with India 135 runs from victory with six wickets in hand. Pant has been in stellar form this series, making two hundreds in the opener at Headingley and contributing 78 in the first innings at Lord’s. He signalled his intent early, coming down the wicket to Archer and swatting the speedster to the long-on boundary.
Two balls later, however, Archer had his revenge. He sent down a ripping delivery at 89.6mph that moved away off the pitch to uproot the off-stump, and followed up by curving his celebratory run towards Pant and firing a volley in his direction. Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Archer revealed what he said: “It wasn't a proud moment, but I just told him to 'charge that'.”
While Archer may yet be required to pay the match referee a visit for his actions, he explained that England’s amped-up intensity was a deliberate ploy, the team having felt they had been “too nice” up until now. “It was a collective effort to be honest. We all came together as a group yesterday and said, 'We're a bit too nice'. When we go other places, some teams aren't as nice to us as we are to them so I guess we just tried to shift it. Who knows? I don't know if that's the reason, if that helped give us that extra buzz today in the field, I don't know.”
The third Test will go down as a classic, England victorious by 22 runs after outlasting a heroic rearguard from Ravindra Jadeja and India’s tail. It also featured a ramping-up of tension between the two sides. Zak Crawley’s perceived delaying tactics on the third evening were the flashpoint, India captain Shubman Gill telling the England opener to “grow some f***ing balls” in a heated confrontation. The following morning, Mohammed Siraj made contact with Ben Duckett following his dismissal of Crawley’s partner, a moment that earned him a demerit point and a 15 per cent fine of his match fee.
Speaking after the game, Gill played down the bad temper between the two sides. “It makes for an even more exciting Test series,” he said. “When you're in the heat of the moment there's so many emotions involved. Both teams are competitive and you're playing to win. There is going to be moments where there is going to be a bit of heat.”
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