Oval pitch curator Lee Fortis and India head coach Gautam Gambhir faced each other once again ahead of the fifth Test between England and the visitors. The game begins on Thursday, July 31, at The Oval.Earlier, the two were involved in a heated argument as Lee Fortis warned Gautam Gambhir not to stand near the pitch. It turned into a verbal spat, becoming a controversial matter.Post the same, the two came face to face once again before the start of the fifth Test. Gambhir was standing near the pitch with other staff members as Lee Fortis walked towards them and had a short conversation. Notably, captain Shubman Gill was also present. It appeared as though Fortis asked them to move away slightly from where they were standing, which they then did.Watch the video of the same posted by a user on X (formerly Twitter) below:Gambhir did not even turn around or look at Fortis while he came over. As far as the series is concerned, England are 2-1 ahead. However, they will be without Ben Stokes, who is ruled out of the fifth Test. India will aim to win at The Oval and draw level.Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak defends Gautam GambhirPost the controversy, India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak spoke out in defense of Gautam Gambhir. Kotak mentioned that they wore spikes and were not damaging the pitch in any manner."When we were looking at the pitch, they asked us to stand 2.5m away. We were wearing joggers. It was very odd. Looking at the wicket with rubber spikes, nothing wrong. We see the ground is not damaged. It's a pitch, not antique," he was quoted as saying by India Today.Further, Kotak also added that Gambhir did not like the way the curator spoke. Notably, visiting teams' captains and coaches have had a tough time with the Oval pitch curator in the past, which Kotak also highlighted."The curator yelled at support staff when they were getting ice box. Gambhir objected to that. The way he spoke irked Gambhir. Everyone knows the curator at The Oval is not the easiest person to deal with," he said. (via the aforementioned source)With India having lost two Test series on the bounce under Gautam Gambhir, the head coach will want them to draw level in England.