The ENG vs IND 4th Test at Manchester might have ended in a draw but not before a dramatic episode that once again put both teams at loggerheads. As the umpires signalled for a drinks break in the final session of Day 5, England skipper Ben Stokes headed towards Indian batters Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar to shake hands and call it a draw.
However, with Sundar and Jadeja on 80* and 89* respectively and individual centuries on the horizon, the Indian players denied the offer. That prompted Ben Stokes to say to Jaddu,
“Do you want to score a hundred against Harry Brook?”
The statement could be construed as an insult, especially from an Indian point of view since Brook is not a regular bowler.
Nevertheless, Harry Brook was indeed brought in to bowl the next over and India batted another five overs as both players reached their respective tons before accepting the draw.
However, Stokes’ comments in the middle stirred up mixed reactions from former cricketers and fans alike. Check some of the best ones below.
"I didn't have a problem with it, they deserved to be there at the end"
Sanjay Manjrekar – “Only argument he had was if India promised that in 15-20 minutes nothing happened, we can shake hands. If that was the case, and then they had two batters close to hundred, I can understand the frustration. But that didn’t happen. No way India was going to take up that offer. Stokes should have known that. Would he have done that? I doubt he would have done that if it was two of his batters doing a heroic act on day 5 and batting close to centuries.”
"You want to get a hundred against Harry Brook" : Ben Stokes to Jadeja
Such pathetic words from a Captain. Literally played a tremendous innings to save the game, played all their main bowlers easily and Stokes really thinks, the hundred is going to be because he played Brook.
Every time I think Ben Stokes has earned a fan in me with his all-round brilliance, he or England do something that reminds me exactly why I hesitate. That was utterly shameless from the English captain, not what you expect from a player, let alone a leader.
Today Jadeja refused to shake hands with Ben Stokes to draw the match, seeing this I was reminded of how Rohit Sharma made Ben Stokes and England field for 2 overs just to wear shoes.😂
bRO & jaddu two owners of England and Ben stokes 🙌
India avoids series loss at Manchester after salvaging draw
Shubman Gill and Co put up a spirited effort to deny England a chance to wrap up the series at Manchester despite looking in a precarious situation at one stage. After England took a massive 311-run lead with a 669 total in response to India’s 358 after the first innings, the visitors were dealt early blows losing Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan for respective ducks and getting reduced to 0/2.
However, captain Shubman Gill (103) and KL Rahul (90) made amends with a deft 188-run stand before Washington Sundar (101) and Ravindra Jadeja (107) hit individual centuries to help India secure a draw comfortably.
With the series scoreline tipped in favour of England at 2-1, India’s draw at Manchester still keep them alive and they will now head to Oval with a clear goal to win and level the series.
