The fifth day of 4th Test at Manchester ended on a controversial note for England as their questionable tactics and the reaction of skipper Ben Stokes came under negative light. India came in to bat in the second innings and were jolted by two consecutive setbacks as both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan fell for a duck. But Shubman Gill and co made a solid comeback with Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar smashing centuries and leading the match towards a draw.
The Jadeja-Sundar duo batted with utmost composure and stitched together a 203-run partnership. With about 90 minutes of play left on the final day, England skipper Stokes was left frustrated with the inevitability of adraw and he approached Indian batters offering a handshake. India would have agreed to end the match at that time but both Jadeja and Sundar were nearing their personal milestones and when the match result was already known it was obvious that the duo wanted to achieve their respective feats.
Hence, India refused when Stokes offered a draw and the England captain was left visibly irked. His gesture has again reignited the ‘spirit of cricket’ controversy.
Even former Indian cricketer turned commentator, Sanjay Manjrekar weighed in and questioned Stokes’ approach suggesting that he missed the bigger picture. The stump mic even revealed the on-field exchange of words between Stokes, Jadeja and others which highlighted the increasing tension on the field.
“In the end, what you saw was Ben Stokes frustrated, not used to the kind of result. And finally, I will say this. He was a bit of a spoiled sport and behaved like a spoiled kid. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar had batted for hours, and getting this close to a hundred, there was no way they were going to accept. Ben Stokes will rue what he has done. But it tells you exactly how frustrated England are, and all this is only because of the kind of fight this new-age Indian batting has put up.”
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“The only argument Stokes could have had was that if India had promised him 15 or 30 minutes earlier that if and when the time comes, we would be happy to shake hands. That didn’t happen. If that is the case and he found India not agreeing because two of their batters were nearing 100s, I can understand the frustration. There was no way India was going to take up that offer. Ben Stokes should have known that. Would he have done the same thing with two of his batters approaching 100s, putting up such a fight. I doubt whether he would have said let’s shake hands,” mentioned Manjrekar.
