Gill-Anderson-Bairstow sledging fest went on for two days in Dharamsala Test
Gill had sledged Anderson which irked Bairstow (Source: BCCI)
England pacer James Anderson has revealed what led to the war of words between him and India batter Shubman Gill in the Dharamsala Test. Notably, Anderson's teammate Jonny Bairstow was also seen having a sledging contest with Gill while batting in the second innings. A heated discussion between Gill and Bairstow broke out owing to the sledging episode between Gill and Anderson on the previous day (Mar 8) of the Test.
Speaking to the BBC Tailenders podcast, Anderson said: "I said something to him like, 'Do you get any runs outside India.'"
To which Gill replied: "It's time to retire," revealed Anderson and added: "Then two balls later, I got him out."
Gill had scored a century by the time Anderson got him out to put India in a commanding position. After the hosts got all out at 477, England faltered in their second inning to lose the game by an inningand 64 runs.
However, when Bairstow came on to bat, he asked Gill "What did you say to Jimmy about retiring?"
"I told him (Anderson) he should retire," responded Gill from the slip cordon. "And then he got you out next ball," chirped Bairstow in reply.
"So what?" Gill asked before adding, "He can get me out after a 100 …"
"100 per cent" quipped the Englishman to which Gill replied: "How many hundreds have you scored in this series?"
"How many have you scored full stop?" said Bairstow and ended the slugfest.
Bairstow, notably, had a horrible series with the bat, scoring just 238 runs in 10 innings with a highest of 39 which incidentally came in the last inning of the series.
England couldn't match India in either the batting or bowling departments and much of the onus lies on their seniors, including Bairstow. The visitors eventually lost the series 1-4 despite winning the first Test in Hyderabad.
