Ben Stokes "Ne Beizzati Karwa Li": England Captain Not Spared By Natwest Winner After Handshake Row
While the India duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar was only a few runs aways from the century-marks, England captain Ben Stokes approached his Indian counterparts with an offer to shake hands and call it a day
For England, the drawn fourth Test vs India might have tasted as a loss. Starting from the final session on the fourth day, as India fought to conquer a 311-run deficit, England were the firm favourites. But India fought with their heart to force a draw. In fact, after overnight batters Shubman Gill and KL Rahul fell on Day 5, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja stitched a solid stand and completed their centuries. While the India duo was only a few runs aways from the century-marks, England captain Ben Stokes approached his Indian counterparts with an offer to shake hands and call it a day, only for India to refuse to budge and settle for a draw after the duo got their centuries. The skipper Stokes and the whole English unit looked completely unsettled, firing a barrage of remarks at the all-round duo and putting in a half-hearted effort while bowling, as their key players sought some rest.
Former India star Mohammad Kaif blasted Ben Stokes for his act. Â Â
"Ben Stokes ne Beiizzati karwali (Ben Stokes has lost respect) because of one moment when he wanted to stop the game. Ravindra Jadeja was batting on 90 while Washington Sundar was on 80. You should not have asked to stop the game," Kaif said in a clip on Instagram.Â
"Why would we want to do that? You weren't able to bowl out India, had nearly two days to do that. You weren't able to win. I don't understand what he was trying to do by getting the game to stop.
"Ben Stokes bowled so well, scored a century and everybody was lauding him. It takes years to earn respect and one moment to lose it. Today was that moment for Ben Stokes when he lost respect."
Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar hailed the Team India for producing "warriors" every match and slammed the English skipper Ben Stokes for behaving like a "spoiled kid" as the visitors refused to draw the match without their all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar getting to their centuries.
"I think that was the perfect summation of what happened -- a draw that feels like a win. And yet again, this young Indian batting line-up continues to surprise. You expected KL Rahul and Shubman Gill to be the partnership to watch out for, but that stand was broken early in the day. However, India keeps producing warriors every Test match -- this time, it was Washington Sundar who stood tall. Fantastic batting once again. In the end, what we saw was frustration from a team that is used to dominating at home. It's rare to see England settle for a draw twice in the Bazball era. Remember, this is the first time Ben Stokes abandoned his principle of batting first after winning the toss -- and it happened against India. This draw, without any weather intervention, came against India. That says a lot," said Manjrekar.
India Cricket Team
England Cricket Team
Ben Stokes
Ravindra Jadeja