New Delhi, July 28 (IANS) Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar stated that India’s fighting batting effort at Old Trafford to salvage a draw from the jaws of a defeat has forced England captain Ben Stokes to rethink his leadership style.

After the gritty knocks from KL Rahul (90) and the captain Shubman Gill (103), all-rounders Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja stood tall against the English bowling attack and scored individual centuries before agreeing on a draw on Sunday. It was one of the greatest fightbacks from the Indian team after being two down without a single run on the board.

The frustration of India’s comeback in the match was visible on England players and captain Stokes, who looked tired and had no plan left to take India’s remaining wickets.

“I think that was the perfect summation of what happened – a draw that feels like a win. And yet again, this young Indian batting line-up continues to surprise. You expected KL Rahul and Shubman Gill to be the partnership to watch out for, but that stand was broken early in the day. However, India keeps producing warriors every Test match – this time, it was Washington Sundar who stood tall. Fantastic batting once again. In the end, what we saw was frustration from a team that is used to dominating at home,” Manjrekar said on JioHotstar.

“It’s rare to see England settle for a draw twice in the Bazball era. Remember, this is the first time Ben Stokes abandoned his principle of batting first after winning the toss – and it happened against India. This draw, without any weather intervention, came against India. That says a lot. India has forced Stokes to rethink his approach and leadership style,” he added.

Manjrekar also believes frustration towards how the day unfolded lead to Stokes’ attempts of calling it a draw before the two allrounders reached their respective centuries.

“What we saw towards the end was a captain frustrated, unaccustomed to such results, and having to fight so hard to secure a favourable outcome. He thought the win was sealed, and finally, I must say, he behaved like a bit of a spoiled kid. After 48 hours of watching Jadeja and Washington bat for hours, both nearing centuries, there was no way India would have accepted his declaration offer. Ben Stokes will regret that moment – and that frustration only tells you how much this new-age Indian batting line-up has unsettled England throughout the series,” the former batter said.

–IANS

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