In his recently-published book 'On Fire', England all-rounder Ben Stokes talked about the lack of intent for Indian batters, especially from former skipper MS Dhoni, during their World Cup 2019 encounter in the group stage. However, the words created quite a stir in Pakistan media after former Pakistan bowler Sikander Bakht claimed that India lost the game to England deliberately to remove Pakistan from the qualifying for the semifinal. But Stokes denied the allegation on Twitter on Thursday.
"You won’t find it cause I have never said it... it’s called "twisting of words" or "click bait," Stokes responded after a Twitter user asked him on where to find that "deliberate" comment in his book.
Meanwhile, Bhakt tweeted an old video if him claiming that India lost to England to deny Pakistan a chance in the semis. Bhakt posted the video with the caption, "Ben Stokes writes in his book that India lost to England deliberately to remove Pakistan from world Cup 19 and we predicted it Pakistan India relationship," while tagging Pakistan Cricket Board in his tweet.
In the game, India were defeated by 31 runs after failing to chase 337 at Birmingham.
Talking about India's run chase in that game in his book, Stokes referred to Kohli-Rohit partnership as "mystifying" and saw no intent from Dhoni in the innings. The all-rounder also talked about the bizarre complaint made by Kohli regarding the shorter Edgbaston boundaries after the defeat against England.
"Arguably, the way MS Dhoni played when he came in with 112 runs needed from 11 overs was even stranger. He appeared more intent on singles than sixes. Even with a dozen balls remaining, India could still have won.
"...there was little or no intent from him (Dhoni) or his partner Kedar Jadhav. To me, while victory is still possible you always go for broke.
"The way Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli played was mystifying. I know that we bowled brilliantly well during this period, but the way they went about their batting just seemed bizarre.
"They allowed their team to get so far behind the game. They showed no desire to put any pressure back onto our team, content instead to just drift along, a tactic that was clearly playing into our hands," Stokes wrote in his soon-to-be-published book.
