Controversy erupted during the fourth England vs India Test in Manchester recently.
Former South Africa and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Dale Steyn has defended Ben Stokes in the controversial handshake incident following the fourth Test between England and India that recently concluded in Manchester.
India were 386/4 after 138 runs in their second innings with a lead of 75 runs. England skipper Ben Stokes approached Indian batters Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar with an offer for a draw, but the visitors refused a handshake.
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At that time, both the batters were approaching their centuries with the game in the final hour on the fifth day. Both the batters eventually got to their respective centuries and a draw was declared.
Tabraiz Shamsi, another South African cricketer who has played for RCB, opined that there was no need for such a controversy. “Why is there such a big deal being made about the Indians choosing not to accept the offer to end the game in a draw immediately? The offer was made. The offer was rejected, and they were fully entitled to make their choice. They got their 100s, which they worked hard for. Game over,” he wrote on micro-blogging platform “X”.
Steyn, however, felt that the Indian batters were not playing for their centuries but were instead looking to draw the match. “Shamo this onion has many layers to it, and each one will make someone cry. The only issue I see here is the one thing people aren’t realizing, the batters weren’t playing for 100s, they were batting for a DRAW. That was the goal. Draw the game. Once that was accomplished, and a result was out of the question a handshake was offered, that’s the gentlemanly thing to do right?
“It’s not then the time to realize they safe and now say no we’d prefer some free milestones… although within the rules, just seems a little, well, odd. That said, they did bat well, and maybe with the last hour approaching they should have been more aggressive in reaching those milestones, at least then, we could all agree, no team tried to out do the other in this weird situation,” replied the 42-year-old.
India eventually finished their innings at 425/4, with Jadeja and Washington forging an unbeaten 203-run partnership for the fifth wicket. India were in a spot of bother in the very first over of the second innings after they lost Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan.
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However, skipper Shubman Gill (103) and KL Rahul (90) also made vital contributions to revive the visitors, and Jadeja and Washington made sure that they carried on from where Gill and Rahul had left off.
England continue to lead the five-match Test series 2-1, and the fifth and final Test will begin at The Oval in London from Thursday (July 31). India can only hope to level the series 2-2 as a series victory is not possible anymore.
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