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A draw that felt every bit like a win. India’s sensational fightback in Manchester, led by KL Rahul and Shubman Gill’s patience and topped off by Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar’s stubborn resistance, helped them escape with a remarkable draw in the 4th Test. Though trailing 0-2, India have kept the series alive and now have a shot at levelling it 2-2 with a win at The Oval in three days’ time. England dominated much of the match. After bundling India out for 358, they posted a mammoth 669, thanks to hundreds from Joe Root and Ben Stokes, building a massive 311-run lead. Yet, with the game ending in a draw, questions are being raised about England’s decision-making.Sunil Gavaskar, the former India captain, believes England may have cost themselves a win by batting too long. He praised India’s second-innings batting effort, highlighting how they lost just four wickets in over five sessions, and called out England’s double standards.
Referring to Ben Stokes’ earlier comments after the first Test, where he claimed England would have chased even 600 runs, Gavaskar pointed out the irony. At Edgbaston, England fell well short after India gave them a 600-plus target. “It was just bravado, loud talk,” he said on Sony Sports Network.
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Gavaskar also wished Shubman Gill had taken the post-match press conference to ask a few pointed questions. “Why did England take a lead of 311? Why not declare after 240 or 250? Once Stokes got his hundred, why didn’t they give their bowlers an extra hour?” he said, adding that Gill is too polite to ask those things, but if he were in Gill’s place, he certainly would have.
