The third Test match between England and India at Lord’s witnessed a heated confrontation between Indian skipper Shubman Gill and England opener Zak Crawley, bringing the match's simmering emotions to a boil. With just seven minutes remaining in the day’s play, the Indian bowlers were raring to make inroads into the English batting lineup. But England’s opening pair—Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett—took their time to delay the proceedings. 

The delay was enough to make sure that only one over could be bowled before stumps. It did not stop there, as Zak Crawley continued to apply time-wasting tactics to ensure England faced only one over. Crawley’s tactics infuriated Indian skipper Gill, leading him to exchange a few words with the England batter. Meanwhile, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has shared his views on the episode. 

“That was a little out of character from what I've known from Shubman in the past. I am sure everyone that was there watching it and I know you would know him quite well, that's not what he's generally like," Ponting told ICC Review.

“That's the captain standing up for his team, that's a captain really wanting to show that it's his team now, and this is the way that we're going to play the game, and also, I guess, wanting to give a little bit back. The UK can be a hard place to play. The crowds, as much as they love their game, can be as hostile a place to play as anywhere in the world," he said.

Ponting, who has also played Tests in England, said the pressure of playing there can be enormous. Ponting also drew comparisons between Gill and Kohli’s leadership.

“The media there, when you're in a big series, when it's an Ashes series or when it's England and India, the media always feel like they're right on top of your back as well. I think that's him starting to put his stamp on his team. And a lot like Virat (Kohli) did, similar ways like that. Rohit (Sharma) probably was never as outwardly aggressive, I guess, especially to opposition players," said Ponting.

“I know he (Rohit) would quite often get aggressive with his teammates and try to bring the best out of them that way. But I love watching Shubman stand up for what he thought was right in the game last week," he added.