India bowler Akash Deep gave Ben Duckett an unusual send-off after the England opener was dismissed on day two of the fifth test at The Oval.
Duckett had stormed his way to 43 off 38 balls, a stand which included two remarkable sixes from scoop shots over the slip cordon.
Yet off the bowling of Deep, Duckett’s third attempt hit him on the upper leg. Undeterred, a ball later, Duckett tried a reverse scoop and clipped the ball behind to wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel.
Visibly delighted after claiming a much-needed wicket for his team, Deep put his arm around the England batsman as he left the pitch, and the pair exchanged some words.
However, Duckett did not overtly react to the odd send-off given by the Indian bowler, who was eventually dragged away by a teammate.
Speaking at the lunch break, with England in a healthy position of 109-1 chasing 224, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said of the incident: “When I saw it, I just thought they must have been mates.
“You don’t see that every day, not in a Test match which has been played as fiercely as this series has been played.”
It is the latest flashpoint in a five-match Test series which has regularly reached boiling point, not least at the end of the last Test at Old Trafford when Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja refused Ben Stokes’ offer of a handshake to end the match.
Yet this morning, Zak Crawley hit an aggressive half-century off 43 balls – with 12 fours – as England looked to rapidly chase down India’s total after dismissing the visitors in double-quick time on Friday morning.
India must win this final Test match to level the Test series, with England currently 2-1 up.
