India, July 29 -- The build-up to the fifth and final Test between India and England has gotten underway on a sour note after head coach Gautam Gambhir was involved in a verbal spat with the pitch curator, Lee Fortis, at the Oval on Tuesday afternoon. According to a report in the Times of India, the former India opener was not pleased with the facilities provided to the visitors two days ahead of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy decider.

The conversation, which started off on a polite note, quickly turned aggressive as there was a lot of finger-pointing from Gambhir. He was even heard saying, "You don't tell us what to do."

The situation got so bad that Gambhir and Lee Fortis had to be separated as batting coach Sitanshu Kotak intervened. ...