Manchester, July 28 (IANS) Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir has strongly backed his batters’ decision to stay on the crease and complete their centuries, even as English skipper Ben Stokes offered a handshake for a draw.

During the final drinks break of the fourth Test, England captain Ben Stokes proposed ending the match in a draw with a handshake. However, with Ravindra Jadeja batting on 89 and Washington Sundar on 80, approaching their well-deserved centuries, the Indian duo opted to continue batting until both players reached their individual milestones, leading to visible frustration from Stokes.

The situation escalated into a heated on-field exchange, marking a tense conclusion to an otherwise hard-fought contest. Moreover, during the post-match customary handshakes, Stokes snubbed Sundar and Jadeja.

Speaking in a post-match press conference, Gambhir hit back at England when asked about the handshake standoff. “If someone is batting on 90 and the other is batting on 85, don’t they deserve a hundred? Would they have walked off? If someone from England would’ve been batting on 90 or 85 and had the opportunity to score their first Test hundred, wouldn’t you allow them to do it? See, it’s up to them. If they want to play that way, it’s up to them. I think both of those guys deserved a hundred, and they got it,” said Gambhir.

After India denied Stokes’ request to shake hands and settle for a draw at the drinks break, Jadeja got his century by dancing down the pitch to whack Brook for six and smacked another full toss from the part-timer for four.

Sundar then smacked Brook over extra cover for four, bringing up 200 of his partnership with Jadeja before a flick got him the two runs needed to raise his first Test century.

Immediately after, the players shook hands for real to end the game in a draw, with India being the happier side, thanks to epic match-saving innings from Rahul, Gill, Jadeja, and Sundar keeping the visitors ’alive in the five-match series.

–IANS

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