India vs England: 5 instances of sledging that made the game absorbing

India will begin their massive series against England comprising three one Twenty 20s, three one-day internationals and five Tests starting July 3. The series will be interesting from a number of angles. While this will give England to win a ODI series versus India at home after seven years; it will also give them a chance to win a T20 series against India after four years.

For the Indians, this series will be an opportunity to win a Test series in England after 11 years and undo the sour memories of 2011 (when they were routed 0-4) and 2014 (when they lost 1-3). Captain Virat Kohli will also have a personal score to settle in the Test series this year for he had a horrible outing in the 2014 series, averaging just 13.50 in 10 innings.

Apart from these statistical aspects, the India-England series lasting for more than two months will also be interesting from the perspective of the mind game. Though the rivalry of these two teams isn’t as heated as an Australia versus anybody in world cricket, yet there have been instances in the past where big names from both sides crashed into each other, adding more spice to the performance on the ground.

Here, we take a look at some of the top instances of locking horns on the ground between players from India and England, be it in the T20s, ODIs and Tests:

1. Yuvraj Singh versus Andrew Flintoff, Super 8 game, T20 World Cup, Durban, 2007

The Lancashire all-rounder had used the F-word at Yuvraj Singh, who was batting at the middle after Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat in a crucial Super8 game in the inaugural T20 World Cup at Kingsmead, Durban, South Africa.

The dashing left-hander had given it back verbally to Flintoff who was frustrated with his injured ankle but chose to use his blade as well. The victim of Yuvraj’s ire was Stuart Broad, the opening fast bowler, as he was lifted out of the ground six times in an over.

It was one of the best advertisements of T20 cricket but one which had originated from a negative reason. Yuvraj slammed a half-century in just 12 balls and though he was taken by Flintoff, India went on to win the game by 18 runs and England were eliminated from the tournament.