Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj has found support from former England great Stuart Broad over his episode with England opener Ben Duckett.
Siraj gave the left-hander a send-off after dismissing him on day four. He was the first England wicket to fall as they were eventually bowled out for 192 runs.
Duckett scored 12 runs off 12 balls before mistiming one from Siraj to Jasprit Bumrah inside the circle. Siraj gave him a send-off off which was perhaps the reaction of the Shubman Gill-Zak Crawley episode that had the players from both teams heated up from the final minutes of day 4.
Consistency Is The Key- Broad Defends Siraj, Slams ICC
Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj was fined 15 percent of his match fees and also handed a demerit point by the ICC after his antics on day four. On-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, third umpire Ahsan Raza and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd levelled the charges on the Indian pacer.
Meanwhile, Broad backed the Indian pacer saying that humans are not robots. He further said that the ICC should be consistent in delivering these penalties also with other players. Broad's reaction followed to a statement from former England skipper Michael Atherton, who recalled Virat Kohli being given a free hand after his shoulder touch with Sam Konstas.
"There is a line, and no one wants to see physical altercations. So when Virat Kohli diverted his path to give young Sam Konstas a shoulder charge this winter, that's a no-no. That should be stamped on.
"Yesterday, the little shoulder touch was entirely accidental. Siraj tried to get out of the way. Duckett just touched him as he walked off. The match referee has not taken any action on that shoulder barge, rightly, and just said Siraj was in Duckett's face. To me, that's something and nothing, 15 per cent of his match fee and one demerit point, let's move on," said Atherton on Sky Sports' broadcast.
Meanwhile, Broad gave his reaction on his official X account, where he termed the umpire's decision on Mohammed Siraj ridiculous.
"Find this ridiculous. Siraj 15% for aggressive celebration. Gill swears live on tv & carries on and what? It’s either both or neither. Players aren’t and shouldn’t be robots but consistency is key" wrote Broad.
India Lose 3 Quick Wickets In First Hour On Day 5
Meanwhile, the Indian team have found themselves in trouble in the first session on day five. Needing 135 more runs to win, India have lost the wickets of KL Rahul (39 runs off 58 balls), Rishabh Pant (9 runs off 12 balls) and Washington Sundar ( 0 off 4 balls). Jofra Archer dismissed Pant and Sundar while Stokes dismissed Rahul.
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