'Kya hogaya Bazball ko?' Indian commentators accuse England of crossing line, forced to apologise as replay shows truth

Indian commentators accused Zak Crawley of crossing the line until the replay showed the evidence, which forced them to apologise on air.

The final five minutes of action on Day 3 of the ongoing Lord's Test match witnessed drama and allegations, shortly after India completely nullified England's first-innings total of 387. Shubman Gill was left enraged after Zak Crawley pulled away from the Jasprit Bumrah over twice in three balls, leading the India captain to accuse the England opener of deliberately wasting time. The Indian commentators, too, joined the act, questioning the "spirit of the game" until the replay showed the evidence, which forced them to apologise on air.

Indian commentators were forced to apologise to Zak Crawley

Crawley had pulled away from the third ball of the only over England batted in the second innings on Saturday after citing a movement near the sight screen. Believing it to be a time-wasting tactic, Gill shouted at Crawley, saying, "Grow some f***ing balls."

Two balls later, Crawley called for the physio after defending a length ball from Bumrah. He immediately removed his gloves and shook his hand in pain, but India did not buy the act, as the player sarcastically clapped at the England batter, before Gill charged at him, sparking a heated exchange, where both were seen pointing fingers at each other.

The Indian commentators, too, accused Crawley of play-acting, questioning whether the ball had even struck him.

“He removed his glove and called for the physio, but the ball didn’t even hit his hand. We’ll definitely check the replay, but the way he reacted, it seemed like it had hit his fingers,” said former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta on JioStar’s Hindi channel. “Well, let them do what they’re doing. It shows their mindset. We need this spark in the series.”

“Exactly—where did it hit him?” a fellow commentator asked, while another added, “Kya hogaya Bazball ko (What happened to Bazball)?”

Dasgupta responded: “Not just Bazball—let’s talk about the spirit of the game too.” Another voice followed: “They could’ve sent in a nightwatchman and dominated this part of the innings. But they can’t even survive an over.”

However, the replay eventually showed that the ball had, in fact, struck Crawley’s left-hand fingertips—prompting an on-air apology from one of the commentators.

“Now let’s see the replay… ohh, it did hit him. Sorry. Apologies. It did actually hit him.”

'Crawley will be assessed'

Tim Southee, England's bowling consultant, blasted Gill for his double standards after the last-over drama in London, reminding that he was involved in delaying tactics on the second day.

"I'm not sure what they were complaining about when Gill was lying down getting a massage in the middle of the day yesterday," Southee told reporters after stumps on Saturday.

"It's obviously part of the game. It's always exciting to see both sides animated towards the end and it was an exciting way to finish the day. It was good to see energy from both sides."

When further asked about Crawley's injury, the former New Zealand fast bowler gave a deadpan reply by saying: "He'll be assessed overnight. Hopefully he'll be alright to carry on tomorrow (Sunday)."