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Former England cricketer, Stuart Broad, has defended the actions of Indian centurions Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, claiming they were right to go: “I’m going to go and get 100”.
As the final session of the fourth Test between England and India approached an inevitable draw at Old Trafford, England captain Ben Stokes removed his cap and offered a handshake to Jadeja in order to draw the game.
But Jadeja and Sundar had other plans, with both batters four hours deep into their match-saving innings and nearing Test centuries.
For Sundar, it was a maiden Test century, with both bringing up three digits after refusing to walk away, despite the result being confirmed.
Speaking on his new For The Love of Cricket podcast with co-host Jos Buttler, Stuart Broad offered an honest and balanced perspective on what played out in Manchester.
“The Indian batters are right to go: I’ve worked really hard for the last four hours. Actually, I’m going to go and get a hundred,” backed Broad, in support of their decision to push on despite the hosts’ fatigue.
Stokes’ response to their continuation was to toss the ball to part-timer Harry Brook – essentially putting the Indian pair’s centuries on a plate.
“Then Harry Brook came on and bowled absolutely filthy off-spin, it was a bit of an embarrassing moment,” Broad joked.
He added: “It looked like a bit of a poor man’s Dan Lawrence action.”
Behind the comical description of proceedings, Broad revealed a heartwarming moment in Sundar’s interview following his battling, first Test century.
“He was a bit emotional and said, ‘This is for my family’, what a special moment, your first Test match hundred.”
“I was like, damn right – Test match hundreds are bloody hard to get, and he deserved it. He didn’t get his Test match 100 in the last 15 minutes – he did it in the four hours before when India saved the game.”
During his long international career, where he claimed 604 Test wickets for England, Broad was renowned for enjoying the fight and fiery cauldron of the Test arena.
Co-host and fellow England hero, Buttler, is the first person to understand Broad’s mind and questioned how he would have responded if he was on the field in the last 15 minutes of the fourth Test.
Broad chuckled: “I’d have been wanting to get off, there were some frustrated comments from England’s fielders naturally.”
After 173 overs in the field and what looked a likely win for England slip away from them, the pair could fully understand their frustrations.
The stretch of tension has been the latest example of a string of heated incidents in a series so far that has encapsulated what Test cricket is all about – it is alive and kicking.
India’s dogged draw in Manchester, spearheaded by another brilliant century from captain, Shubman Gill, means England remain 2-1 up and have been forced into a series decider at The Oval.
READ MORE: Joe Root’s stunning 38 Test century journey: Dominance at home but gaps abroad
The post Stuart Broad speaks out on why India deserved to bat on in Old Trafford draw appeared first on Cricket365.
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