Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin didn’t hold back his emotions while appreciating the efforts of pacer Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna which helped India beat England by six runs in the fifth and final Test match at The Oval in London but he also criticised reckless approach by Harry Brook who almost pulled the game away from India but failed to take England home after throwing away his wicket.
Brook smashed a brilliant counterattacking century in a chase of 374 and added 195 runs for the fourth wicket alongside Joe Root, who also struck a ton. When the duo was batting, it looked as if England would seal the series on Day 4, but Brook tried to charge at Akash Deep and was caught by Mohammed Siraj. Krishna and Siraj then changed the momentum back in India’s favour as India levelled the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar series 2-2.
“When he (Brook) walked into the crease at 100/3, England were not in the match at all and when he took those chances against Akash Deep, England were staring down the barrel and a big defeat was reckoning but when he got out it was the moment that Harry Brook could have cherished. He could have walked outside The Oval with his bat held high alongwith Joe Root who broke records after records and could have won the series 3-1 for England but he played reckless shot and it was his punished of that was why England lost the match and ended up drawing the series,” said Ashwin on his YouTube show Ash ki baat.
“As a captain, as a coach, you can proclaim to the world that this is your brand of cricket. They can say that Brook played the way we wanted him to play. He embraced our beliefs. All of this is easier said than done but Test cricket needs a certain amount of balance. Yes, I agree that this approach did get you runs in the first innings but in the fourth innings, if you are playing on 100 and the finish line is in sight, then it is your responsibility to see your team through,” he added.
Ashwin went on to say that England disrespected cricketing gods and that was why the conditions changed in favour of Indian pacers out of nowhere. “Brook definitely missed that opportunity and it all fell on Root’s shoulders and for India’s good, the conditions also changed, and such things happen when the cricketing gods are disrespected. The way England disrespected the cricketing gods, even the clouds came together, cried on the pitch and allowed the ball to move a lot,” said Ashwin.
