Nasser Hussain, a former England captain, was unflinching in his criticism of Ben Stokes during the last portions of the fourth Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test in Manchester. Hussain believed Stokes’ actions overshadowed the tenacity of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.
With India on the edge of winning the Test, Jadeja batting in the 90s and Sundar in the 80s, the pair had already troubled England with their undefeated combination following the early dismissals of centurion Shubman Gill and KL Rahul on Day 5. As the draw looked apparent, Stokes approached the players and offered to terminate the game with a handshake.
Jadeja and Sundar, on the other hand, chose to continue, determined to complete their well-deserved century. Hussain backed their choice, saying there was nothing wrong with two set hitters chasing personal milestones after putting in such a strong performance. Stokes was irritated and threw the ball to part-timer Harry Brook. Both Indian hitters eventually reached hundreds, and the match was drawn.
“I had no trouble. England appeared to be struggling with it; they were fatigued, both bowlers and legs. They wanted to get off. The two lads fought hard to get into the 80s; they wanted Test match hundreds. Stokes didn’t have to bowl Brook, and it looked foolish at the end, but we do far too many of these things.
“They played well, deserved a draw, and deserved to be there at the end,” Nasser Hussain said.
Hussain was, in fact, full of praise for India’s resilience in securing a draw after a disastrous start to their second innings, losing two wickets for zero in the very first over on Day 4. The recovery began with a crucial 188-run partnership between Gill and Rahul for the third wicket, setting the platform for India’s fightback. The effort was later consolidated by the unbroken stand between Jadeja and Sundar.
“All credit to India. It’s only England’s second-ever draw under this Bazball regime — the other one on this ground as well, because of rain. This one was a draw simply because England couldn’t roll over the two left-handers, who were brilliant,” Hussain added.
India
