Ben Stokes highlights Kohli's remarks over size of Edgbaston stadium
England all-rounder Ben Stokes slammed Virat Kohli for lamenting about the size of Edgbaston cricket stadium following India's defeat to England in the 2019 World Cup fixture. Stokes labeled Kohli's comments as bizarre, stating it was the "worst complaint" ever. The Indian skipper had highlighted the dimensions of stadium in the post-match presentation after the defeat. Here is more.
Kohli's comments in the post-match presentation
Kohli described how the Indian bowlers were hit all around the ground. "If batsmen are able to reverse sweep, sweep you for a six on a 59-meter boundary you can't do much as a spinner," he said. "They had to be smarter with their lines as it was difficult to contain runs with one short boundary. It's the first time we are experiencing this."
Never heard such a bizarre complaint: Stokes
"It was weird to hear Kohli whingeing about the size of the boundaries at the post-match presentation ceremony. I have never heard such a bizarre complaint after a match. It's actually the worst complaint you could ever make," Stokes wrote in his book On Fire.
England trounced India by 31 runs
India were handed a 31-run defeat by England in the group stage fixture. Batting first, the hosts finished on 337/7 at the end of 50 overs. Team India started off well with opener Rohit Sharma slamming a 109-ball 102. Skipper Kohli too scored 66, however, the middle order failed to get India home. MS Dhoni (42*) was criticized for scoring at a low rate.
'Never thought I would cry on cricket field'
Stokes revealed he never thought about crying on the cricket field. "To win the World Cup from here, we had to beat both India and New Zealand. I never thought I would cry on a cricket field. Now I had done it two or even three times in the space of five minutes. I couldn't have cared less, of course," Stokes wrote.
Ben Stokes was pivotal for England in the 2019 WC
Notably, Stokes tallied 465 runs at 66.43 and also scalped seven wickets in England's title-winning campaign. He also headlined the final, having scored an unbeaten 84. England were declared winners with a boundary-count rule after the Super Over scores were tied.
