England captain Ben Stokes aimed to maintain his nation’s undefeated record against India at Edgbaston. However, Shubman Gill’s team performed well and defeated the home side on Sunday, tying the series 1-1.

India scored over 1000 runs in the match before winning by a large margin of 336 runs. After the game, Stokes said he had never seen so many runs scored at that venue before and described the Edgbaston surface as a ‘subcontinent wicket’, which he believed favored the Indian team too much.

Speaking to BBC’s Test Match Special, Stokes noted that scoring runs became harder for his team as the match progressed. He felt that the pitch’s ‘subcontinent’ nature suited the touring team more.

Stokes said, To be honest, it probably became more of a subcontinent pitch as the game went on. There was a little bit there at the start, which we took advantage of early on.

But as it progressed, it became tough for us. The Indian attack and the conditions they’re used to helped them, and they knew how to take advantage of those conditions a bit better than we did.

Stokes’ comment did not sit well with fans, who even called him a ‘crybaby’ for his ‘subcontinent pitch’ remark.

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra was also surprised by Stokes’ comment, pointing out that spinners usually play a much bigger role on subcontinent pitches than they did at Edgbaston.

With the next Test starting in just three days, it remains to be seen what kind of pitch the hosts will prepare, given the outcome in Birmingham.