England vs India: Mohammed Siraj and Sam Curran involved in a verbal tussle on Day 4, Virat Kohli intervenes

India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj and England all-rounder Sam Curran were involved in a verbal tussle on Day 4 of the opening Test of the five-match series at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. The incident occurred during the 74th over of England’s second innings, after Curran slashed Siraj past point for a boundary.

Having missed his length and given enough room to Curran to unfurl the shot, Siraj returned with a barrage of short balls and had a mouthful for the southpaw as he ducked. Siraj followed that by another couple of bouncers, with Curran not scoring either of those. All geed up, he sledged his England counterpart rather zealously, before Indian skipper Virat Kohli placated Siraj to ensure the matter did not escalate too much. Siraj had the last laugh when he gobbled Curran at mid-on off Jasprit Bumrah in the 81st over.

Affairs tantalizingly poised at Trent Bridge on Day 5

Speaking of how the proceedings on Day 4 moved, England were strengthened by skipper Joe Root’s masterful knock, as he notched up a sensational 21st century in Tests. Contributions in the twenties and thirties for England also came from Jonny Bairstow, Dan Lawrence and Curran, but it was Root’s solid 172-ball 109 including 14 fours, which ensured that England set a target for India over 200.

With the ball, Jasprit Bumrah did the most damage, bagging his sixth fifer, while he was well-assisted by Mohammed Shami, Siraj and Shardul Thakur. Out for the chase, India made a steady start, but a peach from Stuart Broad undid the first-innings half-centurion KL Rahul, who was the only Indian wicket to fall on Day 4.

India flew off the blocks quickly, although, with Rahul managing to hit six fours in his brief 38-ball 26, before edging Broad behind. At stumps, opener Rohit Sharma and No. 3 Cheteshwar Pujara stood unbeaten on 12 each, with India still 157 adrift the target and taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

On Day 5, however, the Nottingham weather has kept both the teams waiting, with rain delaying the start. The subsequent encounters will be played at Lord’s, Leeds, the Oval and Old Trafford.