Verbal spats to fiery send-offs, India-England Test series ended all square, but not without drama

While the series will be remembered for the fierce contest, records, centuries & five-wicket hauls, several moments added spice to the clash, creating tense & high-stakes moments.

India's Shubman Gill with England's Ben Stokes after India won the fifth Test match at the Kia Oval, London to draw the test series on 4 August | Reuters

New Delhi: The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy ended in a draw on 4 August after India sealed a thrilling six-run win against England at the final Test at The Oval.

While the series will be remembered for the fierce contest between the two sides, a stack of records, centuries and five-wicket hauls, it was the drama—both on and off the field—that added spice to the clash between the two countries, creating tense and high-stakes moments at the venues.

ThePrint looks at five moments that grabbed headlines during the five-match Test series.

It all started at Lord’s

England’s conduct at the third Test at Lord’s, when they made sure India could bowl just one over in the seven minutes available, was the beginning of a dramatic exchange between the two sides.

England openers arrived 90 seconds late at the crease. Still, India planned on bowling two overs in England’s second innings, but Zak Crawley performed one antic after the other, leaving the visiting nation disappointed.

First, he pulled out once mid-way through the pacer’s run-up. And then, when one of Bumrah’s deliveries touched his glove, he asked for medical attention.

It led to a little verbal battle between Shubman Gill and Crawley, following which the Indian skipper asked the English batters to “grow some f****** b****”.

Shubman Gill & Co. didn’t come to be played around, 𝙠𝙮𝙪𝙣𝙠𝙞 𝙔𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙝𝙣𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙝𝙞, 𝙨𝙞𝙠𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙖𝙮𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙞𝙣!#ENGvIND 👉 3rd TEST, DAY 4 | SUN 13th JULY, 2:30 PM | Streaming on JioHotstar pic.twitter.com/ix13r7vtja

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 12, 2025

 

Siraj’s fiery send-off

The next day, a fiery and angry bowling attack by India showcased how disappointed they were with England’s “time-wasting” antics. Later, when Mohammed Siraj dismissed Ben Duckett for cheap (12 runs), his aggressive celebration, where he made contact with Duckett during his follow-through and their shoulders brushed, didn’t sit well with the referee.

This was noted to be a Level 1 breach of Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct. Following this, Siraj was fined 15 percent of his match fee and also received a demerit point.

Former England skipper Alastair Cook also condemned Siraj’s act. “You’ve got him out—you don’t need to look him in the eye from three inches and shout in his face. That crossed the line,” said Cook while speaking on the BBC’s Test Match Special.

Later on Day 5, when Siraj, while batting, was left on his knees as the ball by Shoiab Bashir trickled onto the stumps from the middle of his bat, handing India a 22-run defeat, a tense Test ended in a heartwarming moment. England players were seen consoling both Jadeja and Siraj for putting up a fight till the end.

🚨 FINE FOR MOHAMMED SIRAJ 🚨

– Siraj has been fined 15% of match fees for his celebration after the wicket of Duckett. pic.twitter.com/Dxte2C9nyO

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 14, 2025

No handshakes?

On the final day of the fourth Test in Manchester, when India managed to bat out five sessions and a draw became inevitable, Stokes urged the Indian batters to shake hands and end the match. Stokes didn’t want to tire his bowlers by pushing them to bowl for an extra hour as the fifth Test was scheduled after just a three-day rest.

At that time, Jadeja was batting on 89, and Washington Sundar was on 80. Therefore, the batters refused to shake hands and continued to bat.

Stokes was visibly disappointed, and he asked, “Jaddu, do you want to get a Test 100 against Brook and Duckett?” To this, the all-rounder responded, “What do you want me to do, just walk off?” Crawley chimed in, “You can, just shake your hand.”

But India carried on to bat until Washington completed his maiden Test ton. At the end of the match, when the two teams lined up for handshakes, Stokes refused to shake hands with Jadeja and Sundar, which raised questions on England’s “spirit of the game”.

For anyone suggesting Ben Stokes didn’t shake hands with Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar… 🤫#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/2ZSnnPV0f8

— England's Barmy Army 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) July 27, 2025

 

Gambhir vs Groundsman

The drama wasn’t restricted to just the players. Two days before the fifth and final Test at The Oval, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir had a heated argument with the head groundsman, Lee Fortis.

India had an optional training session, and according to the usual norm, members of the support staff arrived before the players. Gambhir, along with the assistant coaches, joined them later.

Fortis wasn’t happy with the Indian team using the majority of the main square for their training session, and was also concerned with the coaches getting too close to the pitch. When he called India’s support staff, Gambhir wagged his finger at Fortis, telling him he was “just a groundsman”.

India’s assistant coach, Sitanshu Kotak, who went on to speak to Fortis, later in a media interaction, expressed his surprise at the groundsman’s concern.

“When some of us coaches went to see the wicket, a member of the groundstaff said, ‘Stay away at least 2.5 metres’, which was a little surprising because it is the pitch, the match is starting day after. It will be a five-day Test, and we’re standing in our joggers, so we felt a little awkward,” Kotak said.

Battle at The Oval

The last Test match at The Oval had its fair share of drama. Akash Deep’s send-off for Ben Duckett on Day 2 was one of them.

Duckett had hit the pacer for reverse ramps and scoops in the morning session, but Akash Deep had the last laugh as he dismissed the English batter for 43. After being dismissed, when Duckett was walking back, Akash put his arm around his shoulder and said a few words.

Many former cricketers, including Michael Atherton and Dinesh Karthik, didn’t seem pleased with the antics, and urged Akash Deep to exercise restraint.

But this wasn’t it. Joe Root played and missed a ball by Prasidh Krishna, to which the Indian pacer said, “You are looking in great shape.” It triggered a verbal spat on the field between the two, and umpire Kumar Dharmasena intervened to calm things down.

There was another exchange between Sai Sudharsan and Ben Duckett after the former lost his wicket off Gut Atkinson’s ball.

Sudharsan left the field but soon returned to the pitch for a verbal spat with Ben Duckett, who apparently provoked him. They had a heated exchange of words before Harry Brook and England’s stand-in captain, Ollie Pope, stepped in to separate the players.

A much needed breakthrough for India 🔥

And a cheeky send-off for Ben Duckett 😜#SonySportsNetwork #ENGvIND #NayaIndia #DhaakadIndia #TeamIndia #ExtraaaInnings pic.twitter.com/9YaTjcEYOn

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) August 1, 2025

(Edited by Sugita Katyal)