Gavaskar said that Gill should ask strong questions to Stokes about his tactics.
Sunil Gavaskar has used strong words after a dramatic finish in Manchester, where India, led by Shubman Gill, scraped a draw from a precarious situation against England. As was visible, Ben Stokes was frustrated with Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, who kept batting till their centuries, but his words didn’t please the former India captain.
WI
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AUS
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NOT
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SOM
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TWI
77/10
BAN
212/6
Banstead beat Twickenham by 135 runs
ESM
133/5
BAN
134/0
Banstead won by 10 wickets
TWI
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SPE
74/9
SPE
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ESM
–
TWI
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ESM
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WEY
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ESM
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BAN
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ESM
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WEY
–
SPE
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SPE
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BAN
–
WEY
–
BAN
–
GTC
50/2
BCC
51/4
Bud Cricket Club beat Gauhati Town Club by 6 wickets
91YC
140/8
NAJC
137/7
91 Yards Club beat Nabajyoti Club by 3 runs
Match delayed due to rain
GUG
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NVR
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CCC
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GTC
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PCR
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BCC
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GUJCC
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KZK
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ALECC
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SUL
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MXC
97/1
SWCL
93/5
Maxx Cricket Club beat Sky Warriors Cricket Club by 9 wickets
MKP
108/6
FRC
75/10
MR KB Putrajaya Won by 33 runs
MXC
89/1
MKP
83/10
Maxx Cricket Club Won by 9 wickets
BAD
183/7
BDS
182/6
Band-e-Amir Dragons Won by 3 wickets
SGT
191/6
MAK
141/9
Speen Ghar Tigers won by 50 runs
ASS
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BDS
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BAD
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MAK
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AAC
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PNC
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IAC
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WIC
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IRE-W
32/1
ZIM-W
178/10
Gavaskar said that Gill should ask strong questions to Stokes about his tactics to continue batting even after getting a substantial first-innings lead. Speaking on Sony Sports Network, he pointed out how England could have declared early and given more overs to their bowlers.
“Shubman Gill… if he is at the media conference… I would like him to ask, ‘Why did you take a lead of 311? Why were you not happy with a lead of 240? Or 250? After you [Ben Stokes] got your hundred, why did you not declare and give your bowlers a little extra hour to try and get other wickets?”
England scored a massive 669 in the first innings, with Joe Root (150) and Ben Stokes (141) notching up magnificent centuries, but they could have declared earlier after Stokes completed his century. However, the team kept batting until they were bundled and batted for as many as 157.1 overs in a monumental effort.
Since the Bazball era, England have made bold moves numerous times, including premature declarations while batting, which has often been a talking point. However, they went off-script during the Manchester Test and expressed willingness to bat deep and make India toil for wickets, something they have not done often, even on flat surfaces.
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This move showed how India have forced them to avoid trying funky stuff and bat as much as possible since the visiting side has batted brilliantly throughout the series. India have piled big scores, shown immense courage to hang in even in adverse conditions, and given a real test to Bazball.
So, Stokes didn’t want India to get any chance to come back and take a win for the opponent out of the equation, meaning they had to make a massive first-innings score. This ensured England didn’t bat again and had the best chance to all-out India with more than five sessions to bowl and overcast conditions for their bowlers to exploit.
Unfortunately, India again showed character and grit to overcome adversity, even after losing two wickets in the first over, and took the game towards a draw. That was nothing less than a victory for India, who have consistently been a better side but still trail 2-1 in the series despite doing most things correctly in every game.
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