'Talk is cheap. If England put their money where their mouth is…': Gavaskar wouldn't have spared Stokes if he were Gill
Stokes offered a handshake, but when Jadeja and Sundar turned it down, England and their captain acted like a bunch of crybabies, taunting Jadeja with needless sledging and finger-pointing. That was still acceptable, but what happened afterwards left a sour taste in the mouth. Stokes handed the ball to Harry Brook, who then bowled lollipop deliveries as gifts, and when Jadeja and Sundar completed centuries, none of the English players applauded.
Stokes and England's act invoked a strong reaction out of Gavaskar, who decided to teach Gavaskar a few lessons on how cricket works.
Also Read: Draw was the goal, not hundred: Steyn slams Jadeja, Sundar for handshake snub; backs Stokes in 'gentlemanly' debate
"Towards the end of the Test, a few grumpy English players were unhappy that the batters at the crease, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, declined the offer to end the day's play when England captain Ben Stokes proposed it at the start of the final hour. Instead, they opted to bat on and complete their hundreds. The England players felt that, since there was no chance of a result, the Indians should have accepted the offer to conclude proceedings. They seemed to forget that two teams are playing out there, and if one decides to continue, the other simply has to accept it," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
"They made sarcastic remarks about the batters, who were in their 80s, getting to their centuries off the bowling of a batter. What they overlooked was the hard work and resilience the batters had shown against frontline bowlers for over four hours to reach the 80s. If they wanted a hundred for their efforts, England should have denied them with proper bowlers rather than whining about them getting there against Harry Brook. A Test century isn't easy and doesn't come every match, so the batters were fully entitled to bat on and reach their personal landmarks – which they eventually did. If I were the captain, I'd have told them to keep batting and play out the remaining overs, tiring out the fielders even more – especially after the shenanigans by the English players once their offer was declined."
'Talk is cheap'
Gavaskar then reiterated his point, which he made while speaking on the Sony Sports Network, exposing England's hypocrisy. He picked an example of post-match scenes from the 2nd Test at Birmingham, which India won by a huge margin, to explain all that's wrong with this England Test team.
"At one of the media conferences after the defeat in the second Test in Birmingham, some England players, trying to be funny, asked why India set them a target of over 600. They even went so far as to say that India were scared they'd chase anything above 450. The fact is, when they were on a high from scoring piles of runs on flat tracks and fast outfields in Pakistan, they even boasted ahead of the India tour last year that they could chase down 600. Well, talk is cheap, and when given the chance to put their money where their mouth is by chasing over 600 in Birmingham, they ended up losing by 336 runs. Yes, they didn't even get to 300 while boasting of chasing over 600," added Gavaskar.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
21 minutes ago
- First Post
'Did not expect such big reaction from him': Prasidh on how he unsettled a usually composed Joe Root at The Oval
Indian pacer Prasidh Krishna and English batter Joe Root were involved in a heated back-and-forth on Day 2 of the fifth and final Test. Krishna revealed that it was a plan to get a reaction from Root. read more Prasidh Krishna and Joe Root were involved in a heated back-and-forth on Day 2 of the Oval Test. AFP Indian pacer Prasidh Krishna enjoyed the back-and-forth he had with Joe Root on Day 2 of the fifth and final Test. Following the end of the the pacer revealed that he took the onus to provoke the ire of England's batting general. Prasidh and Root indulged in a heated confrontation that required interventions from the umpires. The usually calm and composed Root lost his cool when Prasidh hurled something at him following a boundary in the 22nd over. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Prasidh Krishna on heated banter with Joe Root Krishna's words did not sit well with Root, who showcased his animated side to the Indian pacer. After the culmination of the day, Prasidh made it known that it was nothing but just a banter between the two 'good mates' that comes within the confines of the game. 'Well, it was a very small thing. I think it was just a competitive edge among us that was coming out. Both of us are good mates off the field. It was just a little bit of a banter, and both of us enjoyed it,' said Prasidh in the post-day press conference. The Karnataka pacer further stated that bringing out a reaction from Root was not an accident; rather the act was carried out with a purpose. 'That was also the plan. But I didn't really expect a couple of words that I said to get such a big reaction from him. But like I said, I love the guy that he is. He's a legend of the game. 'And for him to come out there, it's great when two people are out there wanting to do their best,' said Praisdh who took a four-wicket haul alongside Mohammed Siraj to script India's impressive comeback after the onslaught of Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley in the first session. Prasidh further said that trading barbs with the opposition batter tends to get the best out of him. 'I try and enjoy bowling if it means that I have a bit of a chatter with the batsman. And it does help me when the batsman also is, I can get under the nerves and get a reaction from him. And I think I was just running in well,' said the lanky fast bowler. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Prasidh on how bowlers readjusted after morning beat-down As India suffered a clobbering at the hands of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett in the morning session, the bowlers decided to brush aside the beating and worked on improving. 'As a team we knew what happened before lunch and the three fast bowlers, I think we got together in a small corner and decided, what's happened has happened. 'And all of us know what we need to be doing and we just said, every time we are on the field, at the mark, we trust each other enough, go speak to each other, tell them if you're not on the right track, and just make sure you're bowling the right lines and take it from there. 'And as a team as well, we spoke about the same thing. Like, if the next three, two hours, if we can show some body language, I think it's going to make a big difference and it made a big difference,' he said. The 29-year-old stated that when the chips were against them, they concentrated on getting the basics right and reaped the results in the form of wickets. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I think they are playing a lot of shots and as a bowling unit, it's very hard for us to keep bowling the same areas, knowing they're going to do all kinds of things and try to score runs. But that's the challenge in itself. 'If you can still come there and know what your lengths and lines are and keep bowling the same good balls again and again, I think it's a matter of time. And that's the challenge, to be able to bowl the good lengths in spite of the aggressive intent of the batsman.' India ended the day at 75/2 after 18 overs, taking a lead of 52 runs. Jaiswal and Akash Deep are currently in the middle. A topsy-turvy day for both teams has set the tone for a thrilling Day 3.
Deccan Herald
an hour ago
- Deccan Herald
Indian pacers keep England in check
First it was the turn of the English seamers to complete the destruction job they started so well on Thursday. Gus Atkinson bowled a sizzling spell of 2.4-1-2-3 in the morning to complete a well-deserved fifer (5/33) and with Josh Tongue (3/57) complementing him well, England shot out India, overnight 204/6, for 224 in 69.4 overs within 25 minutes on the morning at The Oval.
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Scoring quick runs in Test matches the Ben-Zak way
LONDON: ON a challenging Oval surface having enough assistance for the pacers, batting was never going to be easy. India witnessed it first hand when they were invited to bat by England skipper Ollie Pope on Thursday. Day 1 was difficult and two rain breaks only added to the batters' woes but Friday gave them some respite with sun replacing the clouds. But with grass on the surface and the ball moving in the air, batting still was a task. Josh Tongue's delivery, which nipped back in to trap half-centurion Karun Nair in front of the stumps, highlighted the challenge batters were facing. Unfortunately, India could not make the most of the slightly better batting conditions and were folded out for 224 in the morning session. If not fully, Shubman Gill and Co were expecting at least some help from the strip when they came out to bowl. And they were not wrong. It helped England bowlers, who at times were spraying all around, when they were batting. England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, however, had some other plans. They came out all guns blazing, derailing India's bowling attack. India had no reply to their ruthlessness as they plundered runs much to the dismay of Indian pacers and took the game away from them. Crawley attacked Mohammed Siraj and Co playing proper cricketing shots, Duckett's approach was entirely different. The latter reverse pulled Akash Deep for a six and then scooped Siraj for another maximum. They also seemed to have zeroed down on a specific bowler to launch an attack. Crawley was harsh on Siraj while Duckett took on Akash Deep forcing the India captain to change the ends to begin with. The first six overs, except the second one bowled by Akash Deep, saw at least one boundary being hit by the English openers. The home team reached 40 in six overs and by the end of the 10th over, they were 71 for no loss. Gill replaced Akash Deep with Prasidh Krishna and brought the Bengal pacer from other end but all went in vain as the English duo could not be reined in. The left-hand opener might have departed for 43 off just 38 balls but by then he along with Crawley had taken England to 92, only 132 runs shy of India's first innings total, in just 77 balls. Crawley continued in the same vein till Prasidh dismissed him after lunch. His knock of 57-ball 64, which included 14 fours, once again gave England an upper hand in the contest. Crawley and Duckett have played a key role in helping England execute their style of play - Bazball - in the longest format. They have often given a quick start to the team throwing bowlers in disarray. Their approach has been the same in the ongoing series and by executing it to almost perfection they have accumulated 539 runs from their partnership in eight innings at a strike rate of around 79 and average of approximately 67. More than the runs they score together, it's the way they get those runs that matters. Be it their 188-run partnership off just 254 balls in the first Test at Leeds or the 166 runs they added for the opening wicket from 217 balls in Manchester during the fourth Test, it all helped their team's cause putting England in the driver's seat. The first match they won chasing an improbable target of 371 while the fourth Test ended in a draw thanks to heroics from Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja. During the 2023-25 World Test Championship cycle, the duo was placed third on the list of highest overall partnership runs. They scored 1086 runs from 33 innings in that period. Harry Brook and Joe Root were first on the list followed by Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma. Their average might be on the lower side but apparently the duo has never cared for it. Given their style of play, especially Duckett, they have a liking to score runs at a quick pace. They did the same on Friday not only allowing England to wipe off the deficit in no time but also gave the team a lot of time to extend the lead to force a result in a game, which is going to be affected by weather.
