Former England spinner, Monty Panesar reckoned that England head coach Chris Silverwood was one of the men behind the heated altercations that took place during the Lord’s Test. Panesar said that it was Silverwood, who had the idea of the English pacers coming hard at the Indian tail-enders, especially Jasprit Bumrah as the latter had hurled a barrage of bouncers at James Anderson on Day 3.
However, Monty Panesar also said that by attempting to scare Bumrah and others, the Brits had irked Indian skipper Virat Kohli. The veteran said that Kohli has a zero-tolerance attitude whenever his teammates are being bullied. During a recent chat with Times of India, Panesar didn’t mince any words in saying that Team India intimidated the hosts.
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Monty Panesar elaborated, “I am sure it all came from England coach Chris Silverwood. India was like, ‘okay you are after one of our guys, we all will be after you now’ India’s tactic really worked in their favor. England thought that they would bully the Indian team. But they weren’t aware of what kind of character Virat Kohli is.”
He further added, “He (Kohli) was observing everything and then came back hard on England. He is a guy who never forgives. He will support his team in every way no matter what. Virat can’t tolerate the bullying of his teammates. England started but it backfired and all credit goes to Virat. England was intimidated by the Indian team.”
In India’s second innings, Ollie Robinson got the wicket of Rishabh Pant early on day 5 to put the hosts in the driver’s seat. However, Bumrah and Mohammed Shami then stitched a huge partnership of 89 runs which helped India make a recovery. The duo had gotten a standing ovation once they returned after batting.
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Talking about the same, Monty Panesar said, “On Day 5, when they got Rishabh Pant out, they thought they would get Shami and Bumrah cheaply too. But everything backfired for England. You just can’t mess with India. Virat can’t take bullying.”
India won the second Test by the 151-run margin to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The third Test will not be commencing on August 25 at Headingley in Leeds.
