England all-rounder Ben Stokes was dropped twice by Indian fielders on day two of the first Test in Chennai. Stokes played a counter-attacking innings and moved the scoreboard throughout his stay in the first two sessions. He scored 82 of 118 balls hitting 10 fours and three sixes. True to his style of play, Stokes was captivating the Indian players on the field all the while.
Meanwhile. the England all-rounder was dropped twice during his stay at the crease. He scored runs quickly and added 124 runs with his skipper Joe Root who scored his third double ton as captain and fifth overall. Joe Root’s partnerships with first Stokes and then Pope on day two, left the Indian bowlers hapless.
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Meanwhile, former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar was livid with the Indian fielders for dropping the England all-rounder twice in quick succession. R Ashwin dropped him off his own bowling whereas Cheteshwar Pujara also gave the all-rounder a reprieve after a tough chance being put down.
Sunil Gavaskar Reacts After India Fielders Drop Ben Stokes
Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar expressed his reaction on the same. Seeing the Indian fielders dropping catches and their body language speaking about their mental state in the game, the former Indian skipper slammed the Indian fielders for not taking their chances.
“Just like they practice the pull shot, the cut shot in the nets, I think the fielding coach must also try and give them these caught and bowled situations as if the bowler has bowled and then he looks up and the catch comes. It is an important aspect. India have been missing a fair few caught and bowled opportunities. I don’t know how they will be able to practice that but they need to do that” Sunil Gavaskar said to Star Sports.
Meanwhile former England batsmen Mark Butcher also stood by what Sunil Gavaskar said. He said that a batsman like Ben Stokes who plays with an aggressive approach cannot be dropped twice.
“When he does give you a chance, you’ve got to take it. Ben Stokes was aiming that drive over mid-on because his body shape and the bat face was towards mid-on, Ashwin didn’t expect it to go to his right. He perhaps expected to go to his left so it wrong-footed him a little bit. He just stuck his hand out and was never in a position to catch it. That’s just the chance you desperately wanna take but unfortunately for Ashwin, he couldn’t,” said former England opener Mark Butcher on the show.
Meanwhile, England ended day 2 on 555 for 8 scoring 292 runs and losing five wickets in the day’s play.
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