"Why are people comparing a ball deflecting of my bat to a mankad"- Ben Stokes
Deepti Sharma's run-out controversy has dragged Ben Stokes into the debate as well.
Controversy erupted when the Indian spinner ran out England's Charlie Dean at the non-striker's end, who had left the crease before Sharma bowled her delivery. It led to India winning the three-match series with a clean sweep.
The run-out technique, which was previously referred to as 'Mankading' a batter, is within the laws of the game but is seen by some as unsportsmanlike behavior.
Former English cricketers led the protests and criticism on social media, accusing India of finishing the match on a controversial note. Stokes expressed his surprise at his inclusion in social media talks.
The England Test captain's ball deflection incident during the 2019 ICC ODI World Cup Final has been compared (in spirit) to Sharma's incident, which has led to his name being dragged in.
In the final over of that 2019 game, Martin Guptill threw the ball towards the stumps, which instead deflected off Stokes' bat and went for four overthrows. These were crucial runs as it allowed England to tie the game and then win the tournament in the Super Over. It has now resurfaced after English players questioned the spirit of the game in the Indian team.
Stokes, for his part, is surprised at his name being propped up. He shared a tweet, which read:
“Why are people comparing a ball deflecting of my bat to a mankad?”
Why are people comparing a ball deflecting of my bat to a mankad? https://t.co/LeYEK601mP
Deepti Sharma, in her defense, clarified that she had given Dean repeated warnings, which was ignored by the English player. Sharma further added that she had notified the umpire of the same as well, in order to prevent England from stealing more runs by taking unfair advantage.
The Indian off-spinner said:
"It was our plan because she was doing it repeatedly. We had also warned her. So, according to the guidelines of the rules we did it. Yes, yes definitely we did say because we told the umpires. But still she was there so we couldn't do anything."
Reasoning that every team plays to win, Sharma said they did what they felt was right.
"Every team wants to win and we wanted to win and give her (Jhulan Goswami) a good farewell. So going by that, as a team we did what we could, we put that effort in."
A brilliant bowling performance from India clouded by a controversial run-out
India bowled with discipline and vigor to reduced the English Women's team to 118/9 in the third ODI at Lord's. A solid rearguard action from Dean and Freya Davies kept England harboring, helping them inch closer to an unlikely target.
With 17 runs left to chase, England were shaken back to reality by a moment of clever cricket from Sharma. Dean's brilliant effort of 47 went in vain as India won the third game by 16 runs.
Dean has since contradicted Sharma's statement, claiming that she was not warned by the Indian spinner for leaving her crease too early.
?🤔🙄Controversial Decision by UMPIRES🙄
It was a Run Out Appeal made by the players & the decision was given OUT by The 3rd Umpire sitting in Room with many monitors, ordering the Directors to show different angles. Why Blame Deepti Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur & Indian Team🇮🇳?🤔🙄 https://t.co/XYt8FKizIW
For India, it was a momentous game as they bid farewell to the legendary Jhulan Goswami. The Indian bowling unit did the veteran proud by defending a paltry total of 169 in her final game.
Renuka Thakur was the pick of the bowlers as she picked up four wickets. Goswami grabbed two scalps in her final game to help India win the series 3-0.