Why Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill fought with umpires on Harry Brook?

The ongoing Test tour of England has brought out a fiery side of India’s young leaders—the captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Rishabh Pant—as the duo isn’t just impressing with their batting heroics but also their aggressive and mature leadership.

In a rare sight, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant turned into a relentless pair of field generals on Day 2 of the ongoing second Test, targeting Harry Brook with sharp awareness and clever tactics and putting the English batter under real pressure at Edgbaston.

In the final overs of Day 1, Ravindra Jadeja was bowling the 19th over, and that’s when things turned dramatic but frustrating for the Indian captain. Harry Brook, clearly aiming to kill time and make sure no more overs were bowled on the day, started subtle time-wasting tricks against India.

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Rishabh Pant exposes Harry Brook’s mind games at Edgbaston

After the first ball of the 19th over, Brook walked off to adjust his gloves. Then again, after the third delivery, he did a slow walk to fix his gloves. That’s when Rishabh Pant lost his patient. With no patience left for Brook’s antics, Pant stepped up and loudly told the umpire, "Bowler is ready."

Rishabh Pant’s words led the on-field umpire to warn Brook to stop delaying and take his stance. But the English star wasn’t done yet. After facing the very next ball, he walked down the pitch again, this time tapping at the surface, leaving the Indian wicketkeeper-batter more irritated.

Rishabh Pant, arms wide open, shouted in frustration, “What is this? Every ball? He's taking time to get ready for every ball.” But Brook’s ploy backfired. Despite all his tricks, Jadeja kept things moving and finished the over with one minute still left before stumps on Day 1 at Edgbaston.

Shubman Gill expresses displeasure at the umpire over Harry Brook's analytics

That tiny window was all the umpires needed to allow one more over, and that meant more work for the tired English batters in the ongoing second Test. The drama didn’t end there, as the teams changed ends; Indian captain Shubman Gill wasn’t ready to let it slide either.

Gill walked up to the umpire and expressed his concerns about Brook’s delay tactics. But the umpire, in a calm tone, responded, "I can't (physically) push the batter," saying Brook had already been warned. Gill and Pant’s intent and sharp minds impressed many, as they made it clear that they won’t tolerate gamesmanship.

However, England managed to survive the final over bowled by Prasidh Krishna with Brook and Joe Root to resume the play of Day 2 of the ongoing second Test at Edgbaston. The hosts went back to the pavilion at a troubling 77/3, trailing by a massive 510 runs.

Read Also: The Future Fab Four: 4 Exciting New-Gen Players to Keep an Eye on

Harry Brook’s mind game works as Shubman Gill falls short of a triple-ton

Earlier in India’s innings, Shubman Gill and Harry Brook had a small moment on Day 2. The Indian captain was getting close to his first-ever triple-century when Brook tried to play a little mind game. The stump mic picked up Brook saying, "290s are the hardest."

The rest of their chat wasn’t heard. Soon after that, Gill was out for 269 while trying to pull a delivery from Josh Tongue. He missed out on the triple century, but his brilliant knock helped India score a huge total of 587 after England captain Ben Stokes opted to bowl first at Edgbaston.

Read Also: Watch: Ravindra Jadeja suffers hilarious wardrobe malfunction, leaves Edgbaston crowd in splits