The second day of the fifth and final Test between India and England at The Oval saw a heated confrontation involving Joe Root and Prasidh Krishna.

During the 22nd over of England’s innings, Root and Krishna engaged in a verbal battle with no one taking a back seat. Soon, the on-field umpires had to intervene to separate the two.

Unlike his calm nature, the English talisman was animated right from the very start, and he didn't take kindly to the verbals thrown by the Indian pacer.

It all started with Prasidh having a word or two to say to Root on the fifth ball that over. Then, on the very next delivery, the England batter slammed the fast bowler for a boundary. More words were exchanged as Root and Prasidh had a go at each other.

The altercation turned so ugly that rest of the Indian players also came charging in. When Root was chatting with the on-field umpire Ahsan Raza, Mohammed Siraj was standing nearby, observing the discussion.

“It's highly unusual to see Joe Root as animated as he was in that moment. Quite a cheery soul, but not on that occasion,” said former England captain Michael Atherton on air.

On the other hand, former India head coach Ravi Shastri remarked, “Both teams fired up. What it would really do is send a clear message to India that there would be a clear intent from Joe Root. He will be looking to score and looking to be more positive.”

“There is a sense of purpose, even when he walked back to his guard. You can see that in his eyes,” he added.

Here’s the video:

The flare-up at the Oval has certainly added a new layer of drama in this tightly-contested series. England, currently leading the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-1, will be looking to end on a high while India have an opportunity to draw level in the finale.