Jonny Bairstow and Shubman Gill were involved in a war of words on the morning of day three of the Dharamshala Test – the topic of chatter being James Anderson.
Early on day three, Anderson became the first seamer ever to reach 700 Test wickets, snaring Kuldeep Yadav to achieve the feat. His 699th scalp was centurion Shubman Gill the previous afternoon, breaching through the India No.3’s defences.
Before Gill was dismissed by Anderson, the two were seen having an exchange: when asked at the end of day what it was about, Gill remained coy, saying: “I think it would be better for both of us to keep that chat in private,” Gill said.
When Jonny Bairstow walked out to bat, he made sure to enquire with Gill, at first slip, what the conversation was about. Gill did not hold back, with the chat being beamed live through the stump mic.
Jonny Bairstow: “What did you say to Jimmy about him retiring?”
Shubman Gill: “I told him he should retire”
Bairstow: “And then he got you out next ball?”
Gill: “So what? How many times has…”
Bairstow: “I was just asking”
Gill: “He can get me out after my 100”
Bairstow: “100 per cent”
Gill: “How many 100s [do you have] this series?”
Bairstow: “How many have you scored, full stop?”
Before the exchange, Bairstow had raced to 38 off 28, taking R Ashwin head out with a three sixes on the leg side, hitting with the turn. The verbal duel came after the 17th over, with Kuldeep Yadav getting ready to bowl.
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The sledging backfired for Bairstow: four balls later, Kuldeep had him pinned lbw on the backfoot, on 39 off 31.
As Bairstow departed, he had a few parting words for Gill, celebrating nearby with his teammates. Gill shook his head as Bairstow crossed him and walked away.
For reference, Gill is the second highest run-getter in the series with 452 runs at 56.50, with two centuries. Bairstow, on the other hand, has 238 runs at 23.80, with a best of 39. Bairstow is playing his 100th Test.
