‘The worst complaint you could ever make’ – Ben Stokes criticises Virat Kohli for questioning the Edgbaston boundaries during the 2019 World Cup

Ben Stokes, the England all-rounder, came down hard on Indian skipper Virat Kohli for questioning the length of the boundaries in Birmingham during the 2019 World Cup match. After the contest at the Edgbaston that India lost by 31 runs, Kohli said that one couldn’t do much due to the short dimension of the ground. It was the only league match the Men in Blue lost in the mega event.

After electing to bat first, the Three Lions amassed 337 runs on the backs of Jonny Bairstow’s century and fifties from Jason Roy and Stokes himself. The Indian spin-duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal had tough times as they conceded 160 runs in 20 overs with the solitary wicket of Roy, who was involved in a 160-run stand for the opening wicket with Bairstow.

Virat wasn’t happy with how even reverse-sweeps were going for sixes at the venue. “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. They had to be smarter with their lines as it was difficult to contain runs with one short boundary,” Kohli mentioned in the post-match press conference.

Never heard such a bizarre complaint: Ben Stokes

Now Stokes, one of the Brits’ key players in the World Cup, didn’t miss out on criticising Virat for the remarks. The New Zealand-born said that it’s the worst complaint one could ever make. The southpaw expressed his opinions in his book, titled ‘Ben Stokes on Fire’.

“… it was weird to hear India captain 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 was quoted as saying.

In the run-chase, India had their moments, but could only manage 306 runs. Rohit Sharma got 102, but his efforts went in vain. Kohli also scored 66 with a couple of 40s from Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni. It was also Rishabh Pant’s debut match in the World Cup after he came in as an injury replacement.