When tempers took off on a day the action didn’t

The ball slipped out of Ravindra Jadeja's grip as he twirled it in his release and landed somewhere near his feet. The bowler, now slightly confused, looked behind, directly below and to his left. Jonathan Trott, the batsman, however, hadn't peeled his eyes off the leather, following it, much to everyone's mirth, with a raised bat to the square-leg area.

The ball, having bounced a dozen or more times, had rolled itself out of the pitch and on to the green of the infield. Here it met with the screeching force of Trott's golf swing. Umpire Kumar Dharmasena signalled a no ball and four runs. England brought up just the fourth boundary of their static innings, and everyone, including Trott and Jadeja, wore sheepish grins.

It brought back memories of two such occurences in the past, involving Allan Border in 1991 and Craig McMillan eight years later. The former had hunted down a mis-released Phil Simmons bouncer and pulled it into the Sabina Park stands; the latter had followed Phil Tufnell's roller all the way to midwicket, thwacking it to the fence the way Trott just did. It had happened before, and will happen again. Try telling the Indians that.

As Trott's innings began to balloon and MS Dhoni's side began to get a little edgy with his constant presence on the field, that very moment returned to catalyse plenty of banter on the field. The Indians were venting their frustration, and Trott was at the receiving end of it.

Fast forward exactly 25 overs. Trott, now batting on 43, faced up to Ishant Sharma. The Indian pacer dug it in short, inducing Trott to shape in for a backfoot cut. Only, the ball passed the willow's edge and was collected by MS Dhoni. The appeal looked convincing, but the umpires for once were in tune with TV replays. But a chirping leg slip Virat Kohli and Sharma had a grudge to settle.

... contd.

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