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

During the 22nd over of England’s innings, Root and Krishna engaged in a ward of words 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, England’s No. 4 batter slammed the fast bowler for a boundary. More words were exchanged as Root and Prasidh had a go at each other.

Prasidh Krishna faced backlash on social media for riling up someone as cool as Joe Root, but according to the Karnataka lad, he was taken aback by the great batter’s reaction.

“I don’t know why Rooty [reacted]," Prasidh told the BBC’s Test Match Special. “I just said, ‘You’re looking in great shape,’ and then it turned into a lot of abuse and all of that."

Later, Prasidh came out to address the post-day press conference, where he was asked if the plan was to distract Root.

“That was the plan, but I didn’t expect the couple of words I said to get such a big reaction from him," Prasidh told reporters.

Prasidh Krishna also hailed Joe Root as a legend of the game. “That’s just who I am when I’m bowling, when I’m enjoying. If it means that I have a bit of a chatter with the batter… and it does help me when I can get under the nerves of the batsman and get a reaction from them. But I love the guy that he is. He is a legend of the game and I think it is great when two people are out there wanting to do the best and be a winner at a given moment," he added.

Coming to the Oval Test, India’s first innings folded for 224 in the first half hour of the morning session on Day 2. In reply, the hosts got off to a blazing start, with Ben Duckett (43 off 38) and Zak Crawley (64 off 57) adding 92 runs for the opening wicket in just 77 deliveries.

However, India’s pace attack, led by Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, sparked a stunning turnaround. England, who were 109 for 1 at lunch, were bowled out for 247 in the final session.

Siraj (4-86 in 16.2 overs) and Prasidh (4-62 in 16 overs) both claimed four wickets each as the visitors conceded only a slender lead of 23 runs.

By stumps, India had reached 75/2 in just 18 overs, turning the deficit to a handy lead of 52 runs. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (51* off 49 balls) and nightwatchman Akash Deep (2*) will resume batting for the tourists on Day 3.