Jonny Bairstow and Pat Cummins' post-match meet has shades of Kohli-Gambhir's aggressive handshake in IPL
Does that Bairstow-Cummins handshake remind you of Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli…from IPL 2023?
The loss at Lord's which allowed Australia to surge to a 2-0 lead in the 2023 Ashes series only aggravated the tension between the two teams which was sparked by Jonny Bairstow's dismissal. England captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum certainly made that loud and clear while Bairstow, the cynosure of the Lord's drama, if not through words, made himself heard by the look he gave at Australia captain Pat Cummins after the 2nd Test. Does that remind you of Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli…from IPL 2023?
On the final afternoon of the Lord's Test, moments before lunch, Bairstow had walked out of the crease after ducking the shortish delivery from Cameron Green. With the ball still in play, wicketkeeper Alex Carey dislodged the bails sparking a spirit of cricket debate despite the dismissal being well within the rules of the game.
With England eventually losing the match by 43 runs, Bairstow's dismissal became the talking point with Stokes questioning Australia's intentions while McCullum hinted that it damaged the relationship between the two teams.
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In a fresh footage that went viral on Sky Cricket's Twitter account, Bairstow and Cummins came face-to-face after for customary post-match handshakes. As Cummins went about shaking hands with the England players, Bairstow's look summed it up before the two shared a firm handshake.
The commentator in the video can in fact be heard saying: “Here is that handshake, take a look...if only looks could kill.”
VIDEO: Jonny Bairstow and Pat Cummins' aggressive handshake after the England vs Australia 2nd Ashes Test
The handshake does give a reminder of the one between Gambhir and Kohli in IPL 2023 in April following the first-leg match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Gambhir had also gestured towards the crowd after the intense handshake with Kohli following LSG's narrow win. The duo will go on to have another ugly fight in the second-leg fixture.
Despite the reaction from England, Cummins said that he saw nothing wrong in the dismissal, revealing that it was actually a pre-meditated attempt from Australia.
"I think Carey saw it happen a few balls previously, three or four balls previously, and there's no pause, catch it, straightaway and throw at the stumps. I thought it was totally fair play. That's how the rule is. Some people might disagree. That's how I saw it," Cummins told Sky TV during the post-match presentation.
"You see Jonny do it all the time. He did it on day one to Davey Warner. He did it in 2019 to Steve [Smith]. It's a really common thing for keepers to do if they see about a batter keep leaving their crease. So Kez [Carey], full credit to him. He saw the opportunity. I think Jonny did it a few balls beforehand. Rolled it at the stumps. Jonny left his crease. You leave the rest to the umpires," he later said during the press conference.