A chatty Sarfaraz Khan got under the skin of New Zealand batsmen, especially Daryl Mitchell, on the first day of third Test in Mumbai, which led to umpires summoning India skipper Rohit Sharma and Sarfaraz for a pitch-side meeting.
Fielding at silly point, Sarfaraz was continuously chirping with possibly an odd sledge that seemed to have annoyed Mitchell who probably reported it to the on-field officials.
Umpires Richard Illingworth and Michael Gough were then seen having a word with Rohit and Sarfaraz.
Before the matter went to the umpires in the post-lunch session at the Wankhede Stadium, Mitchell and Rohit had already once been seen talking about Sarfaraz’s verbal volleys.
Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and decided to bat first. They lost Decon Conway (4) early, trapped lbw by Akash Deep. Skipper Tom Latham and Will Young then added 44 runs before the track started producing spin, which Washington Sundar took advantage of.
The off-spinner cleaned up Latham (28) and Rachin Ravindra (5) to put the visitors in a spot of bother at 72 for 3. However, Mitchell and Young dug in deep to stitch a partnership for the fourth wicket.
At the time this report was published. New Zealand were 146 for 3 in 42 overs, with Young batting on 67 and Mitchell on 30.
New Zealand have already clinched the three-match series by winning the first two Tests in Bengaluru and Pune. However, the game remains important from the point of view of the race to the World Test Championship final.