'That kind of statement from Jimmy was a surprise': Ashwin reveals what happened between Bumrah and Anderson at Lord's

Details have emerged from the incident, with spinner R Ashwin explaining what had happened between Anderson and Bumrah on Day 3 of the Lord's Test match.

The second Test between India and England at Lord’s saw plenty of heated exchanges taking place. On Day 3, Jasprit Bumrah bowled a barrage of bouncers in one over to James Anderson which did not please the England pacer. The next day, Anderson and Kohli had multiple exchanges, while on the fifth day, Bumrah exchanged a few words with Jos Buttler before Kohli tried to get under Buttler and Ollie Robinson's skin while they were battling to save the Test for England.

James Anderson of England looks at Jasprit Bumrah of India after being hit during Day 3 of the Lord's Test. (Getty)

The Bumrah vs Anderson duel was out of the blue. The India pacer sent down bouncers in an over to Anderson, one of which hit the England quick on the helmet. Yet, Bumrah did not back down and continued operating at the same line and length for the remainder of the over as Anderson copped a blow to his body as well. Bumrah bowled four no-balls making it a 10-ball over, which Anderson played out safely but the fast bowler's ploy did not sit well with the 39-year-old.

At the end of the day’s play as players from both teams were heading back to their respective change rooms, Bumrah patted Anderson on the back, but the England fast bowler appeared unimpressed and mouthed a few words to him. Finally, details have emerged from the incident, with spinner R Ashwin explaining what had happened between Anderson and Bumrah.

"The thing was, Jimmy was like, ‘Hey mate! Why are you bowling so fast? Am I doing the same to you?’. The beauty about that is, looks like Jimmy had told Boom (Bumrah), ‘All this while, you were bowling in 80 m/h; suddenly on seeing me, why are you bowling in 90 m/h?’," Ashwin told India fielding coach R Sridhar on the spinner’s YouTube channel.

"What was surprising to me what that kind of question. I agree, maybe he was shaken. Getting hit on the helmet is definitely not easy and I empathize with him, but still, that kind of a statement coming from Jimmy was a surprise to me."

What followed was rather extraordinary. When Bumrah walked out to bat during India’s second innings, England’s tactics of sledging him backfired as he and Mohammed Shami added an unbeaten 89-run partnership for the ninth wicket and got India to 298/8, before Virat Kohli announced the declaration. England were set 272 to win, a target that proved way too much for England as India bowled them out for 120.

"England took that Anderson incident very personally. Bumrah said he didn't even know what happened but all of us got together and told him what Anderson said to him and that riled us up. What happened next was extraordinary," said Ashwin.