ENG vs IND: "I was never the villain.." The Oval curator Lee Fortis breaks silence on verbal spat with Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir had a verbal spat with The Oval curator Lee Fortis ahead of fifth test.

The Oval pitch curator Lee Fortis has finally broken his silence on the verbal spat with India head coach Gautam Gambhir. The recently-concluded five-match test series between England and India witnessed several heated exchanges.

During the training sessions at The Oval ahead of the fifth test, Gambhir had a verbal fight with The Oval curator Lee Fortis. Fortis asked India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and Gambhir to stay 2.5 meters away from the pitch.

However, this did not go well with Gambhir, and he exchanged a few words with Fortis on the ground. The video of the moment went viral on social media and became one of the highlights in the media ahead of the fifth test.

I was never the villain: The Oval curator Lee Fortis

While speaking to PTI, Fortis said that he was made to look like a villain in the matter.

“Well, I was never the villain; I was made to look like one. Hope you all enjoyed the spectacle. The atmosphere was like the IPL, and it was a fantastic game,” Fortis said.

Meanwhile, India made an incredible comeback in The Oval test to capture a victory by just six runs. They set a target of 374 runs for England in the encounter and bundled them out for just 367 runs, winning the clash by a narrow margin.

Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna led a brilliant pace attack across both innings, clinching nine and eight wickets respectively in the encounter. Siraj was adjudged Player of the Match. With the victory in the final game, India ended the five-match series in a 2-2 draw.

Earlier, England won the opening game at Headingley by five wickets while India clinched a victory in the second match at Edgbaston by 336 runs. The hosts won the third test at the Lord’s by 22 runs before the fourth test at Manchester’s Old Trafford ended in a draw.

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