Gautam Gambhir fights with Oval pitch curator, has heated spat before 5th Test: 'You don't tell me what to do' – Watch

Ahead of the fifth and final Test, India head coach Gautam Gambhir was involved in a heated spat with the Oval curator.

The fifth and final Test between India and England is around the corner. Shubman Gill's team has a chance of levelling the five-match series after walking away with a memorable draw at Manchester. The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy decider is just two sleeps away, but ahead of the marquee contest, sparks flew on Tuesday afternoon after India head coach Gautam Gambhir was involved in a heated spat with the chief pitch curator, Lee Fortis.

Gautam Gambhir arguing with Oval pitch curator

As confirmed by Hindustan Times' reporter at the venue, there was a lot of finger-pointing from Gambhir after the former India opening batter got really upset over something. Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak also jumped in as he, too, had an animated chat with Fortis.

Gambhir was even heard telling the curator, “You don't tell us what we need to do. You can't tell any one of us what we need to do. You are just a groundsman, stay like a groundsman.”

At this stage, it is not known what the issue was, but something definitely rubbed Gambhir the wrong way, after which he did not take a backward step. Fortis was then also seen having a lengthy discussion with Kotak, possibly explaining his stance.

At first, the pitch curator walked away from Gambhir to speak with Kotak. However, the Indian head coach did not shy away from voicing his opinion and pointed fingers to give Fortis a piece of his mind. Finally, Fortis and Gambhir went their own ways, with the India coach returning to overseeing the training session.

Sai Sudharsan, who registered a duck in the second innings of the Manchester Test, was the first one to arrive at the venue for the practice. Fortis was also then seen observing India's practice session from close quarters.

Tempers flare in the series

There has been an outpouring of emotion in the ongoing series. It all started in the Lord's Test when Shubman Gill did not take kindly to England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett arriving '90 seconds late' at the crease for their second innings. Gill let it rip at the England players, asking them to "grow some f****** b****."

In the Manchester Test, it was Ben Stokes and England's turn to lose their collective cool. The hosts offered Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar to call the game off early, as only a draw emerged as the one possible result.

Jadeja and Sundar refused the call as they both were nearing their tons. This led to Stokes and England losing their cool and saying some nasty things on the field. Harry Brook bowled some loose deliveries as Jadeja and Sundar brought up their respective centuries. The game eventually ended in a draw, but there was definitely some bad blood between the two teams.