On Day 4 of the ongoing Test match between India and England at the Lord’s, a few visuals have emerged which suggests that the English players could have resorted to ball-tampering. Although there has not been any confirmation, it is said that English opener Rory Burns had the ball under his spikes.
India started off terribly on Day 4
Trailing by 27 runs, Team India started in a disappointing fashion on Day 4. While the first innings centurion KL Rahul fell early, experienced campaigners Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma fell cheaply. Rohit Sharma played a pull shot off Mark Wood and this went straight to the fielder. On the other hand, Virat Kohli attempted to play a ball that was almost at the seventh stump and eventually edged it.
Pujara and Rahane steady the boat
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane came to the crease with India under pressure. The players themselves were under pressure due to a run of bad scores. However, they stuck to the task and did not lose their wicket in the session post Tea. With this, the possibility of an India loss is slowly going out of the equation, although they have to replicate it post Tea as well.
Visuals of potential Ball-tampering emerge
Day 3 and Day 4 have become easier to bat with the sun shining brightly. The ball is also not doing much off the air or the pitch. Amidst this, a few visuals came out which saw a few English players having the ball under their spikes.
If the ball can get rough on one end, it could help in bowlers getting reverse swing. Hence, it appears that the players were deliberately having the ball under their spikes. It needs to be seen if the English management speaks about this. The umpires are also likely to check the visuals after the end of the day’s play.
That looks like ball tampering, England. It sure does… pic.twitter.com/qLeICi5i2D
— Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) August 15, 2021
Ball tampering, eh? #EngvInd
— Wear a Mask. Stay Safe, India (@cricketaakash) August 15, 2021
Yeh kya ho raha hai.
Is it ball tampering by Eng ya covid preventive measures 😀 pic.twitter.com/RcL4I2VJsC— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) August 15, 2021
England cricketers playing soccer with the cricket ball? pic.twitter.com/4CdPcrkghF
— ✨ (@Kourageous7) August 15, 2021
Epic display of sportsmanship from the sanctimonious poms yet again #ENGvIND @elitecynic @cricrohit pic.twitter.com/7VM7zVJDDC
— Pranav Ramakanthan (@duality_pranav) August 15, 2021
