“I would like him to ask, “Why did you take a lead of 311?’” - Sunil Gavaskar’s scathing attack on England after ENG vs IND 2025 4th Test

Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar questioned the England team for extending their batting innings in the fourth Test at Manchester that ended in a draw. Gavaskar's outburst came as he responded to England's over-the-top claims of chasing down 600 in their tour of India last year.

After restricting India to 358 in the first innings of the Manchester outing, the hosts batted for 157.1 overs to compile a massive 669. However, their 311-run lead went to no avail as India batted nearly two days to finish on 425/4 and draw the contest.

Speaking about the big talk from the English side after the game, Gavaskar said on the Sony Sports Network (1:26):

"Gave you 600 runs but you ended up 336 runs short. So that was just bravado and a little bit of loud talk. So now Shubman Gill, if he's at the media conference, I would like him to ask, 'Why did you take a lead of 311? Why were you not happy with a lead of 240 or 250? After Stokes got his hundred, why didn't you declare and give your bowlers the extra one hour to try and get other wickets?"

He added:

"I hope he asks that. I know he will not, he's too nice of a guy. Not like this SG, that SG is different. But this SG, 100% would have asked at a media conference."

The Manchester draw kept India in the series, with a chance to walk away from the UK tour on level terms at 2-2.

"They were scared and that's why they gave us more than 600 runs" - Sunil Gavaskar on England players' comments after 2nd Test

Sunil Gavaskar slammed the England players for taking a shot at India for their extended batting in the second innings before the declaration in the second Test at Edgbaston. India's lone win in the series came in that outing when they set England a target of 608. The hosts surrendered meekly, managing only 271 and losing by 336 runs.

"The question can be asked 'Did England bat too long?' before they declared. Because when India gave England 600 runs to chase at Birmingham, some of the England players when they came out for the press conference later on said 'They were scared and that's why they gave us more than 600 runs'. I remember the England players saying while they were in India, 'Give us 600 runs, give us anything, we'll chase," said Gavaskar (via the aforementioned source).

The fifth and final Test of the thrilling England-India series will be played at the Oval, starting July 31.

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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran