India seamer Mohammed Siraj on Thursday revealed that it was Ben Stokes, who kicked-off the on-field showdown between the latter and the Indian skipper Virat Kohli in the opening day of the ongoing Test in Ahmedabad.
Siraj after the conclusion of play on Day 1 said: “He was swearing at me, so Virat bhai intervened and handled that well. These things happen at ground.”
WATCH | Virat Kohli clashes with Ben Stokes on Day 1
Following the incident, Kohli was seen engaged in a heated discussion with the England all-rounder, which eventually led on-field umpire Nitin Menon to intervene.
The incident took place when England were reeling at 32 for three.
Adding further insights on the incident, Siraj added: “Pretty animated was that (the conversation)?…Look at it from a different way, you know, two-three guys who care about what they are doing, care about representing and played against each other and you know, why would they not be competitive?”
“So we are not going to back down to anyone…For me that is what it was competitive guys trying to get over each other,” the seamer said.
Meanwhile, the spin duo of Axar Patel and R Ashwin once again combined to wreak havoc on the visitors as they bowled out for 205 and India closing the play at 24 for one, with Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma present at the crease.
Playing his second game of the series, Siraj picked up two wickets in England’s innings.
Siraj was also at the centre of the controversy during the Test series in Australia where he was racially abused by a section of the crowd. Cricket Australia had apologised for that incident and even evicted some spectators from the ground during the Sydney Test.
– with PTI inputs
