England skipper Ben Stokes has shared his thoughts on the final over of play in Manchester that saw tensions between England and India rising once again. Notably, the English skipper had offered to draw the Test match as Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar looked resolute at the crease, but the Indian batters refused, knowing they were very close to a special century. The English players, however, did not take that reaction well, with comments directed at the Indian batters about their intent and the importance of the hundred in a bid to force a draw earlier in the match.
Both Jadeja and Sundar eventually got to their hundreds in the next few overs, and the match ended with a handshake, but the behaviour of the English players left a sour taste in the mouth for Indian fans, who saw this draw as more of a victory given where England were in the game.
Ben Stokes on Manchester no-handshake drama:
Speaking at the post-match presentaion, Stokes was asked about the controversy that followed during the last hour of the play to which the English captain responded saying, “I think we we took the game as far as we as we could with our frontline bowlers to. We took it as far as we could to think like we’ve got a um real chance of still winning this game.”
“But as soon as it got to that point where it was the draw is inevitable… I was never going to risk any of my frontline bowlers with the short turn around that we have and the workload that we’ve got through this week and throughout the series as well.” he added
“Um, so yeah, as soon as you know the 15 overs or last hour was there, it there was always going to be a shake hands” Stokes further stated.
Jadeja – Sundar keep India alive in the series:
Notably, Jadeja and Sundar came to the crease in the first session of play on Day 5 after the dismissals of the well-set Shubman Gill and KL Rahul. The two batters not only batted for over two sessions but also added more than 200 runs to ensure that only one result was possible in the game.
The grit and determination shown by the two batters ensured that India kept their hopes alive in the series. The visitors are 2-1 behind in the five-match series, and a loss in Manchester would have taken the series out of their hands.
