While England’s bowlers worked hard in the middle, India’s Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar stayed tall at the crease for their 203-run partnership for the fifth wicket in the fourth Test in Manchester. This massive stand was critical to India securing a draw and avoiding a series defeat for the time being.
While Jadeja and Sundar wanted to call the game off only after reaching their individual hundreds, opposing captain Ben Stokes taunted Jadeja, stating,
“Do you wanna get a hundred off Harry Brook and Ben Duckett?” Ravichandran Ashwin harshly criticised Stokes for this. The former Indian cricketer claims that Jadeja did not urge Stokes to pass the ball to Brook, therefore the onus is entirely on the England squad, not the Indians, for accepting an early draw.
“What is a double standard? I understand that you can be frustrated at times. You can fight with your players and hurl your helmet. After the game, you can hit the wall in frustration, toss your battle, or even box. Please do it. But you’re giving a handshake to draw the game, but because you’re frustrated, you can’t blame Jadeja for not reaching your hundred and walking away crying. You are saying, “I am unhappy; you are not happy.” “How can this happen?” He said this on his YouTube channel, Ash Ki Baat.
“Boss, they played Jofra Archer, Matthew Hoggard, Dominic Cork, and Andrew Flintoff. Meaning they literally played your best bowlers on the fifth day for the first couple of sessions, working hard all day, so why should they leave without a hundred? “If Stokes is now giving the ball to Harry Brook, it is entirely his fault, not Jadeja’s or Sundar’s,” Ashwin continued.
I’d have played all fifteen overs: Ashwin
The legendary India spinner also believes that if he were in Stokes’ position, he would have wanted the opposition to play all the fifteen overs remaining in the day. Further taking a dig at Stokes’ advocacy for spirit of the game shouts, the Chennai-born says that he should have given the ball much earlier to Harry Brook, if he actually taunted Jadeja for getting a hundred off a part-timer.
“If I was the captain, I would have played all the fifteen overs, instead of asking for a draw. As an international team captain, you are the brand ambassador for spirit of cricket, then you should have bowled Harry Brook for the entire innings. It would have been a great affidavit for spirit of cricket. You would have been the poster boy for spirit of the game,” the 38-year-old opined further.
The two teams will now move into the fifth and final Test of the series. This game will be played at the Kennington Oval, London, starting July 31 and will decide the fate of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, which is currently poised at 1-2 in England’s favour.
India
