
Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of India, lost control of his emotions when Washington Sundar delivered his team a much-needed breakthrough in the second session of Day 4 of the Lord's Test against England.
Sundar surrounded the legs of star batsman Joe Root, forcing him to step back after scoring 40 runs. After the middle-order star batsman was removed, Gambhir lost control of his excitement and threw a mouthful from the Lord's Cricket Ground balcony.
Given that Root had earlier avoided a near-miss after being wrapped on the pads by a Mohammed Siraj delivery and that on-field referee Paul Reiffel failed to raise his finger, Gambhir's reaction was not shocking. The replays supported the on-field verdict as the umpire's call, notwithstanding India's decision to seek a review.
Root's century in the first innings helped England to a respectable score. However, Gambhir couldn't hide his happiness when Sundar provided India with the much-needed breakthrough.
On the fourth ball of the 43rd over, Sundar broke the partnership between Stokes and the former England captain for the fifth wicket, sending Root behind his legs. The ball drifted in, clattering into the leg-stump after slipping past Root's bat. Root scored 40 runs off 96 balls, including a four.
Gautam Gambhir was seen on camera mouthing “F**k Off” as Joe Root was dismissed, and it showed how much the wicket meant to the Indian team at that juncture.
England was bowled out for 192, as Washington Sundar took 4/22, while Siraj and Bumrah took 2 wickets each. Set 193 runs to win, India ended day 4 on 58/4, losing the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill, and nightwatchman Akash Deep. KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 33. India will need 135 more runs to win on day 5, while England will hope they take the remaining 6 wickets before that.
