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Fuming Ben Stokes, England refrain from applauding Jadeja, Sundar's centuries: ‘Farcical, Respect for opposition…’
Drama unfolded in the final few minutes of the Manchester Test where tempers once again flared as Ben Stokes did not take kindly to Jadeja and Sundar's call.
The Manchester Test between India and England ended in a draw after KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar batted out of their skins to help visitors maintain the chance of levelling the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. However, there was no shortage of drama on Day 5 as tempers once again flared between the two teams. In the final few minutes before the eventual draw, England captain Ben Stokes approached the umpires and Jadeja and Sundar to shake hands and end the contest right there and then.
However, Jadeja and Sundar were both approaching their centuries, so the duo decided not to walk off. This left Ben Stokes fuming, and he refrained from bowling his specialists as he introduced the part-timers Harry Brook and Joe Root.
Harry Brook did not even try to land the ball properly as he dished out full toss after full toss. Soon after, Sundar and Jadeja registered their centuries, and eventually the game was called off.
Former England batter Jonathan Trott did not take kindly to England's tactics, saying this was not a nice end to the contest. It must be mentioned that England did not even applaud once Jadeja and Sundar brought up their tons.
“Yeah, I'm not too sure I like how this game's finishing. Harry Brook is not even trying to really bother. He's just throwing up now, almost sort of saying, as he stops there, just sort of giving up and just lobbing the ball. I've always liked toss-ups, you see. For me, this is really strange,” Jonathan Trott said on air while commentating for JioStar.
“There's a way to play the game. There's a respect for the opposition. You see again, yeah, today he's just lobbing up,” he added.
‘Farcical bowling’
Once both teams shook hands, former England captain Michael Atherton did not hesitate to call out Harry Brook's bowling, labelling it “farcical.”
India batted for more than five sessions to save the Manchester Test. Eventually, the game was called off with the visitors at 425/4 in the second innings. Jadeja and Sundar remained unbeaten on 107 and 101, respectively.
Shubman Gill registered his fourth century of the series as he played a knock of 103 runs. KL Rahul missed out on a much-deserved century as he was dismissed for 90 by Stokes.
The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy is still being led by England as they are 2-1 ahead. However, it is everything to play for at The Oval in the final Test, which begins Thursday, July 31.
