England captain Ben Stokes was noticeably agitated as India all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar delayed the fourth Test draw in Manchester on Sunday, July 27. With the two Indian players getting close to their tons, the all-rounder chose not to bowl his frontline bowlers. Stokes even inquired as to whether the two would be interested in playing part-time bowlers Ben Duckett and Harry Brook in order to attain their hundreds.
The gesture followed on the heels of the tourists urging the two batters to keep on batting and attain their respective century with 15 overs to go in the match. After five more overs, the Men in Blue, with ten overs to play-out, eventually shook hands and settled with a draw. Having come back with 107* and 101*, Jadeja and Sundar built an untouchable stand of 203 runs (5 wicket partnership).
Here’s how the fiery exchange happened:
The England team said to Jadeja:
“If you wanted a 100, you should have batted like it earlier.”
Stokes told Jadeja:
“Jaddu, you want to get a Test 100 against Harry Brook & Ben Duckett?”
Jadeja replied:
“What do you want me to do? Just walk off?
England opener Zak Crawley entered the chat, saying:
“Jaddu, just shake your hands.”
Jadeja retorted:
“I can’t do anything.”
Crawley reiterated:
“You can, you shake your hands, and it is done.”
Watch the video below:
Scored a hundred, saved the Test, farmed ♾ aura! 💁♂#RavindraJadeja didn't hesitate, till the end 👀#ENGvIND 👉 5th TEST | Starts THU, 31st July, 2:30 PM | Streaming on JioHotstar! pic.twitter.com/cc3INlS07P
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 27, 2025
Later, Ben Stokes revealed that he wanted to protect his frontline bowlers ahead of the fifth and final Test against India at the Oval, which begins on July 31. In the post-match program, the 34-year-old stated (via Cricbuzz):
“On India delaying the draw) Yeah, I think all the hard work was done by India. They both (Washi and Jadeja) played incredibly well, and it got to that point where there was obviously only one result, and there was absolutely no chance I was going to risk any of my big fast bowlers through injuries with one more game to go.”
Ben Stokes
“I Didn’t Have a Problem With It” – Former England Captain Surprised by Ben Stokes’ Outburst
Ben Stokes’ actions as Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja postponed the draw on the fifth and final day surprised former England captain Nasser Hussain. He said to Sky Sports:
“I didn’t have a problem with it. England seemed to have a problem with it. They were a little bit tired – tired bowlers, tired legs. They wanted to get off. The two lads have worked hard to get into the 80s and 90s. They wanted Test match hundreds. Stokes didn’t have to bowl Brook, and it looked a bit silly at the end. But, we make far too much of these things.”
Nasser Hussain
“They played well. They deserved a draw; they deserved to be there at the end. All credit to India. It’s only England’s second-ever draw under the Bazball regime. The other one [came] on this ground as well because of [the] rain. This one is a draw simply because England couldn’t roll over [India] and those two left-handers were brilliant.”
Nasser Hussain
