"It can also be a distraction" - Former India keeper's huge statement on Shubman Gill's heated exchange with Zak Crawley in ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test

Former Indian wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer believes the altercation between Shubman Gill and Zak Crawley at the end of Day 3 of the Lord's Test was more of a distraction than anything else. After the two teams played their respective first innings to a push with 387 runs, the hosts' openers walked out to bat with seven minutes left until close of play on the third day.

Crawley used different time-wasting tactics to ensure only one over was bowled, much to the disgust of the Indian skipper, Shubman Gill. It led to an extended altercation between Crawley and Gill, as only the lone over was bowled before stumps.

When asked about the exchange between the duo in an interview with Revsportz, Engineer said:

"When there’s needle in the game—shoulder-to-shoulder stuff—it’s never ideal. Some commentators said it added intensity to the game, which is fine, but it can also be a distraction. In our time, we had altercations too, especially with the Aussies and even the English. But we put them in their place and moved on."

Engineer also believes the incident may have galvanized England for the rest of the match.

"Did it affect Shubman and the Indian team? Possibly. It definitely brought England closer as a unit. Shubman is still young as a captain, but he’s doing well. He leads by example, and his batting in English conditions has silenced a lot of critics. He’s a class act," he stated.

Despite being bowled out for a sub-par 192 in their second innings, England bowled India out for 170 on the final day to win by 22 runs.

"We should have been 2-1 up instead of trailing" - Farokh Engineer on Lord's Test defeat

Farokh Engineer expressed disappointment over India fumbling a relatively straightforward run-chase in the third Test at Lord's. The visitors endured a dismal top-order collapse that saw them reeling at 82/7 at one stage in their run chase of 193.

However, a spirited Ravindra Jadeja, with his 61* off 181 deliveries, and the final two batters, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, took the game deep and ensured a close finish.

"We should have been 2-1 up instead of trailing. We let England score too many runs, and our main batters didn’t click on the penultimate day. KL Rahul got out cheaply, and the conditions were tough, especially on the last day of a Test match. Still, we should have chased it down," said Engineer (via the aforementioned source).

He added:

"The way Bumrah and Siraj batted at the end was a bit of a lesson to the top order: if they could hang in there and support Jadeja, why couldn’t the others? We didn’t play clever shots and didn’t have the best of luck—but no excuses. England deserved to win, and they did."

The Lord's defeat has India staring down the barrel of a series loss, with England ahead 2-1 in the best-of-five affair. The fourth Test at Manchester starts on July 23.