Veteran Indian spinner R Ashwin applauded England’s Joe Root and Zak Crawley after their heartwarming gesture for Team India speedster Mohammed Siraj on Day 5 of the recently concluded Lord’s Test as well. However, Siraj worked hard for 30 balls before being dismissed by Shoaib Bashir in the run chase as well. With the wicket, India were bowled out for 170 and suffered a 22-run loss too.

Reacting to the incident, R Ashwin said in the latest YouTube video of his channel, ‘Ash ki Baat’, “When Siraj got out, Zak Crawley and Joe Root came to him. That defined cricket for me. That essentially is what Test cricket is. Sometimes we get caught in the spirit of cricket debate, like the time wasting tactics, all that is part and parcel of the game. To win the game, it is important to fight. But at the end of the day, you should be able to shake off the differences. Joe Root and Zak Crawley shook off the differences that had arisen over the last five days. I have been with Joe Root in the Rajasthan Royals camp, and he is such a gentleman. He performed well in this Test, took an amazing catch and broke Rahul Dravid’s record.”

However, R Ashwin also recalled that India won a similar Test match against Australia as well. He also added that all players were busy celebrating the victory. He also shared that Joe Root and Zak Crawley, however, felt that they needed to give Mohammed Siraj a pat as well.

“We had won a similar Test at Adelaide Oval. There were partnerships from Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. They needed 28-29 runs when the last wicket fell, and we were just celebrating. We don’t even remember the other team because you are in the moment of celebration. But for Crawley and Root to feel Siraj is hurting, they should put an arm around his shoulder was a definite standout moment for me,” R Ashwin concluded.