The fifth and final day of the Manchester Test between India and England ended up causing a lot of drama. With 15 overs remaining in the day and Indian batters Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar firmly set on the crease, England captain Ben Stokes offered to a call it a draw. However, with both the Indian players close to reaching their hundreds, the Men in Blue declined to do so until both of them moved into three digits.
Gavaskar wasn't happy with England's sarcastic act
This resulted in the England players losing their calm as they started brutally sledging the duo of Sundar and Jadeja and didn't even acknowledge them once they reached their respective hundreds. Gavaskar wasn't a fan of this attitude and went on to state that other than Joe Root and Ben Stokes, no other England player has scored enough hundreds that they need to be 'sarcastic' with Jadeja and Sundar for trying to get their score into triple figures.
"A majority of the England players not to be clapping when their hundreds were achieved doesn't really reflect well because they have to acknowledge the 80 plus that both of them scored. I know in modern day cricket, those kind of things are looked down upon as not being manly enough or not being mature enough to acknowledge another sportsperson's superiority. I can understand if Ben Stokes or Joe Root were little sarcastic about it but none of the others in this England team have scored enough hundreds to be sarcastic about the other batters looking to get their hundreds," Gavaskar said on Sony Sports.
Both Jadeja and Sundar worked incredibly hard to reach their hundreds and eventually managed to get there during the third session of the final day to lead India to a hard-fought draw. As both the batters got into triple figures, the Men in Blue decided to call the match as a draw, finishing on 425/4. Jadeja and Sundar's partnership of 203 runs was nothing short of incredible and it also saw both of them continue their impressive form with the bat in the series.
Meanwhile, with the match at Old Trafford ending in a draw, the series winner will be decided in the fifth and final Test which is set to take place at The Oval from July 31. The Indian team cannot record a series victory even if they win the fifth Test as England are currently leading by 2-1. The Men in Blue can however manage to get the series to a draw, but that will only happen if they do get the victory in the remaining match. On the other hand, even a draw at The Oval would see England lift the first-ever Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy so they still are definitely the favourites.