English player steps on the ball with spikes, Aakash Chopra asks if it is tampering

London: Two English players were seen stepping on the ball with their spikes before the 34th over of India’s second innings in the ongoing second Test at the Lord’s Cricket Ground on Sunday.

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra was quick to notice that as he took to Twitter and wrote: “Ball tampering, eh? #EngvInd.”

Shaun Pollock who was commenting at that time also showed his disapproval regarding the incident and later Harsha Bhogle also condemned it. Notably, the ball wasn’t changed by the umpires after this incident. Pollock even mentioned the match referee might want to have a look at it.

England pacer Stuart Broad though was quick to call it an accident. Replying to a fan on Twitter, he wrote: “As I’m sure you’re aware from watching the full footage- it wasn’t deliberate was it. End of Story.”

Earlier in the match, England pacer Mark Wood dismissed India opening batters Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul while Sam Curran sent Virat Kohli back to the pavilion as the visitors were put on the back foot in the opening session on Day 4.

Following that, slow and steady Cheteshwar Pujara and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane led India’s recovery in the second session.