ENG vs IND 2025: ‘Didn’t expect such reaction from him’

On Day 2 of the fifth Test between India and England at The Oval, a verbal exchange took place between pacer Prasidh Krishna and veteran batter Joe Root. The pacer later addressed the incident and mentioned that Root’s reaction took him by surprise.

Root, who arrived at the crease after a solid opening partnership between Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, with the latter falling after a half-century, thanks to Prasidh. The England batter, who usually keeps his cool and avoids getting involved in on-field confrontations, appeared upset just minutes into his stay. On only his first ball, he was hit on the glove by a sharp delivery from Prasidh. Following which the Indian pacer said to Root, “You’re looking in great shape.”

The comment triggered the former English skipper and led to an animated response with the two exchanging a few words. The altercation escalated to the point where umpire Kumar Dharmasena intervened, telling Prasidh for what was an undue aggression. In the following overs, Dharmasena kept a close eye on Prasidh as exchanges between the two camps continued. However, Root was eventually dismissed for 29, courtesy of Mohammed Siraj. Following the day’s play, the Karnataka pacer expressed surprise at Root’s response. 

“I don’t know why Rooty [reacted]. I just said, ‘You’re looking in great shape,’ and then it turned into a lot of abuse and all of that,” he told the BBC’s Test Match Special.

I can get under the nerves of the batsman and get a reaction from them: Prasidh Krishna

At the press conference later in the day, Prasidh clarified that the team had indeed planned to engage Root verbally as part of a strategy.

“That was the plan, but I didn’t expect the couple of words I said to get such a big reaction from him. That’s just who I am when I’m bowling, when I’m enjoying. If it means that I have a bit of a chatter with the batter… and it does help me when I can get under the nerves of the batsman and get a reaction from them. But I love the guy that he is. He is a legend of the game and I think it is great when two people are out there wanting to do the best and be a winner at a given moment,” he added.

England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick pointed out that every player deals with sledging differently and admitted the verbal tactic may have briefly worked in India’s favour.

“I think they made a comment, didn’t they? He [Prasidh] obviously tried to get after him [Root] and spark him up a little bit. Maybe they have 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. Normally, he is the sort of guy who just laughs and giggles and allows things to happen, but today he just chose a different route. Everyone has their own method of dealing with that sort of approach, and today Joe bit back,” Trescothick said after the day’s play.

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