Australian legend Ricky Ponting minced no words in his criticism of Mohammed Siraj after the Indian pacer dropped England batter Harry Brook's catch in the morning session on Day 4 of the fifth Test at The Oval.
After claiming the wickets of Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope, India had the opportunity to snare a third in the session. However, Siraj stepped on the boundary rope after taking what appeared to be a clean catch.
Prasidh Krishna targeted Brook with a bouncer on the first delivery of the 35th over, and the right-hander was not in full control of the pull shot he attempted. Siraj, stationed at deep fine leg, settled under the ball and completed the catch but in the process, he took a step back and touched the boundary rope, thereby conceding six runs instead.
Brook added insult to injury, smashing 18 runs off that over. It proved to be a turning point, as the momentum swung sharply in England's favour.
"What was he thinking? He wasn't thinking at all. He didn't have to move to take the catch, so how costly might that be? Brook is still in and reads the bowlers so well. He bats in a Test match, how you would try and read a bowler in a T20," Ponting said on Sky Sports.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri was impressed with the competitive nature of the session, describing it as Test cricket at its finest.
"That session was Test cricket at its best. It was a watchful first hour - good bowling and plenty of chat out there, fielders getting in the face of the batters," Shastri commented.
The hosts went into lunch with 164/3 on the board, needing 210 more runs with seven wickets in hand.
"India picked up a couple of wickets - but then came the counterattack. In a seesaw battle, England took the momentum. Harry Brook did a Rishabh Pant. I liked his anticipation. It was clear that he wanted to score runs and be disruptive," Shastri added.
In the post-lunch session, India paid the price for dropping Harry Brook as the England batter took the touring attack to the cleaners. Brook, batting on 92*off 82, guided the Three Lions to 270/3 in the company of Joe Root (71*), needing 104 more runs in the chase of 374.
