The recent ENG vs IND 4th Test in Manchester might have ended in a draw but not before a dramatic episode that put both teams at loggerheads.
What happened was with the match looking to be headed for a draw, England skipper Ben Stokes offered a handshake to Indian batters Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar when the umpires signalled for the drinks break in the final session of the game. However, with both Jaddu and Sundar in their 80s and centuries on the horizon, they turned down the offer.
The response from the Indians did not sit well with Stokes and he said to Jadeja, “Do you want to score a hundred against Harry Brook?”
From an Indian point of view, it was an insulting remark since Brook is not a regular bowler. While Ben Stokes decided to indeed give Harry Brook the ball, India batted another five overs with Jadeja and Sundar both reaching their respective tons.
The incident in the middle stirred quite a debate and brought up the spirit of the game angle again. Echoing on the same lines, former India captain and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar revealed he’d have a no-mercy approach if he was the leader of the side.
Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar, “If they wanted a hundred for their efforts, England should have denied them with proper bowlers rather than whining about them getting there against Harry Brook. A Test century isn’t easy and doesn’t come every match, so the batters were fully entitled to bat on and reach their personal landmarks — which they eventually did.”
Sunny G added, “If I were the captain, I’d have told them to keep batting and play out the remaining overs, tiring out the fielders even more — especially after the shenanigans by the English players once their offer was declined.”
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With the series scoreline tipped in favour of England at 2-1, Shubman Gill & Co face a clear challenge of winning the decisive final game at the Oval to level the series.
The hosts started with a win in the opener at Leeds before India secured a thumping 336-run win at Edgbaston but a narrow 22-run loss at Lord’s put India on the backfoot. They were also in a precarious position of losing the Manchester Test after getting reduced to 0/2, having to overcome a massive 311-run deficit. However, crucial centuries from Shubman Gill (103), Ravindra Jadeja (107*), Washington Sundar (101) and KL Rahul’s 90 helped India salvage the contest.
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