'I am enormously proud of this team for what they have done'
'You (England) ended up 336 runs short. So that is just bravado, a little bit of loud talk'
India were down. England were dominant. But what followed at Old Trafford was a masterclass in grit.
Against all odds, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, followed by a remarkable act of defiance from Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar to script a dramatic draw in the fourth Test at Manchester — keeping India alive in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
While the result gave India new hope, it also left England red-faced, with Sunil Gavaskar questioning their tactics and calling out their ‘bravado.’
But while India celebrated their resilience, questions have been raised about England’s tactics — particularly their decision to bat long and delay a declaration.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was quick to call out what he saw as England's contradictory approach, especially after their early-series bravado.
Reacting on the Sony Sports Network, Gavaskar praised India’s fight while not holding back on England’s questionable strategy. ‘Satisfied? I am proud. I am enormously proud of this team for what they have done. I mean, just four wickets (fell). Whatever the pitch might have been – good pitch, flat pitch – whatever it is, they stuck around there under pressure. The question can be asked: Did England bat too long before they declared?’
Gavaskar then reminded viewers of England’s rhetoric after the second Test in Birmingham, where Stokes famously said, ‘Even if they had given us 600, we would have gone for it.’
According to Gavaskar, England didn’t live up to their own words.
‘When India gave England 600-plus runs to chase at Birmingham, some of the England players who came out for the press conference said 'India were scared, and that's why they gave us 600 runs.' But I also remember reading somewhere earlier on when England were in India: 'Give us 600 runs. We will chase anything.' That's what India did, but you ended up 336 runs short. So that is just bravado, a little bit of loud talk.’
Never one to shy away from saying what others won’t, Gavaskar also expressed his wish for Shubman Gill to have responded more provocatively in the post-match press conference.
Gill, however, did not attend. Gavaskar playfully noted that if he had been in Gill’s place, the questions would have come thick and fast.
‘Shubman Gill… if he is at the media conference… I would like him to ask, 'Why did you take a lead of 311? Why were you not happy with a lead of 240? Or 250? After you (Ben Stokes) got his hundred, why did you not declare and give your bowlers a little extra hour to try and get other wickets? I know he won't ask. He is too nice a guy. He is not this SG. That SG is different. But this SG would have 100 percent asked. And I am asking now.’
India may have drawn the game on the scoreboard, but the psychological edge heading into The Oval belongs to them.
And with Sunil Gavaskar turning up the heat off the field, the final Test promises fireworks — in every sense.
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