Verbal volleys and wicket send-offs: India-England tension rises at The Oval

Dubai: Ben Duckett tried to rile up Akash Deep with a mid-innings quip — “You can’t get me out in here” — but the Indian seamer let his bowling do the talking. In a fiery morning session on Day 2 of the fifth Test at The Oval, Duckett’s early taunt was met with a fitting reply: when the reverse-sweep had him caught behind, followed by a cold, calculated celebration that has only added fuel to the simmering tensions between India and England.

After Duckett’s reverse ramp drew cheers from the crowd, Akash didn’t say a word — he just came harder. The dismissal, breaking a rapid 92-run opening stand, brought out a rare show of emotion. Akash pumped his fist near Duckett before walking over, throwing an arm around his shoulder and exchanging what appeared to be cordial words. That moment — part snub, part sportsmanship — immediately sparked debate, especially after England’s assistant coach Marcus Trescothick suggested the gesture was out of place.

Walking Duckett off

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bowler do that after getting someone out,” Trescothick said. “You put your head down and walk off. Your job is done at that point. There’s probably no need to sort of walk him off in that fashion.”

The incident was not isolated. The final Test of this see-sawing series has boiled over with moments of confrontation and tactical needle, emblematic of how high the stakes are for both sides — especially a Shubman Gill-led Indian side missing senior pros like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Just a few overs after the Akash-Duckett exchange, India’s Prasidh Krishna found himself in a verbal tussle with Joe Root. The tall pacer greeted Root with a glove-jarring short ball, then beat his bat with a wobble seam delivery. What followed were a few unpicked words that riled Root enough for him to respond with a four and what appeared to be a sharp retort of his own. The umpire had to step in for a lengthy chat with Prasidh, joined by skipper Shubman Gill and KL Rahul in support of their bowler.

Later, speaking to the BBC, Prasidh played down the incident. “I just said, ‘You’re looking in great shape,’ and then it turned into a lot of abuse and all of that,” he said, adding that it was part of a deliberate strategy to rattle Root. “I didn’t expect the couple of words I said to get such a big reaction from him.”

In the press conference, he further explained, “That’s just who I am when I’m bowling — when I’m enjoying. It helps when I can get under the batter’s nerves and get a reaction.”

Trescothick, however, saw it as a calculated tactic. “Maybe they’ve seen him play so well over the last couple of games that India tried a different approach, and Joe bit back, as sometimes he does.”

Emotionally charged series

The final session added another layer to the heat, with Duckett again in the middle of an altercation — this time with Sai Sudharsan, following the latter’s LBW dismissal that stood after a failed review. The two exchanged sharp words as stumps approached.

This five-Test series has been one of the more emotionally charged contests in recent memory — from Shubman Gill’s angry rebuke of Duckett and Crawley at Lord’s over time-wasting, to Ben Stokes’ visible frustration in Manchester when India denied a draw to push for a win, and Gautam Gambhir’s public spat with the Oval curator. The Test is not just a battle for series honours but has morphed into a symbolic contest of intent, pride and new-generation leadership.