On Wednesday, a specific action by England's Harry Brook has added a new layer of tension to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Brook was seen sprinting between overs during India's first innings in Manchester, switching between ends while fielding at slip, almost at his maximum speed. The event, which was filmed, is being widely seen as a humorous reaction to the penalty against England for their sluggish over-rate at Lord's, a judgment that had already infuriated many.

For failing to meet the needed over-rate in the Lord's Test, England was docked two points in the World Test Championship. The choice was harsh, according to many, and the fact that Indian batsmen often took long breaks between overs added to the annoyance. The ball was also switched because of apparent damage, which was claimed to have been brought about by the Duke's batch, which had previously come under fire for its inconsistency.

Brook's over-the-top urgency at Old Trafford now seems to be England's silent protest, more of a jibe than a sincere attempt to gain time.

The timing of Brook's shenanigans further supports an already boiling narrative. In his press conference the day before, Shubman Gill had targeted the hosts by saying that the English batsmen were almost 90 seconds late in starting their second innings at Lord's, which was a critical delay because India was only able to bowl one over before stumps.

Gill also had a verbal argument with Zak Crawley at the time, who had deliberately wasted time during Jasprit Bumrah's over, which had infuriated the Indian team.

After the second wicket fell in India's innings, Gill entered the game to a chorus of boos from the Manchester crowd, claiming that England had behaved in violation of the "spirit of the game" by postponing play at Lord's.

England chose to deploy

Ben Stokes won the toss for the fourth time in a row in the series, but this time he decided to field. KL Rahul was out for 46 runs in the first few minutes of the second session, although India had a scoreless first session. Following a brave 58, Jaiswal also left, and Gill joined Sai Sudharsan, a young player, in the middle.

India is behind in the five-Test series 2-1 and needs to win in order to maintain any chance of winning the series in England.

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