Former England skipper Nasser Hussain expressed no issue with Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar turning down Ben Stokes’ offer for a draw during the Manchester Test, stating that both players had earned their centuries through sheer determination and hard work. India kept their hopes alive in the five-match series by forcing a draw in the fourth Test.
Starting Day 5 at 174/2 on July 27, the visitors lost just two wickets across the entire day. Skipper Shubman Gill scored 103, while Jadeja (107*) and Sundar (101*) remained unbeaten with centuries. The match concluded in an unusual manner. After 138 overs, with India at 386/4, Stokes suggested ending the game.
With Jadeja on 89 and Sundar on 80, both chose to play on to reach their hundreds, prompting England to continue with part-timers Root and Brook. After the draw was confirmed, Stokes and Jadeja had a heated exchange, and ex-England captain Nasser Hussain later weighed in on the incident on 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.”
“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 rain. This one a draw simply because England couldn’t roll over [India] and those two left-handers were brilliant,” the 57-year-old went on to add.
Gill Defends Jadeja And Sundar’s Call To Reject Stokes’ Draw Offer
During the post-match presentation, Indian skipper Shubman Gill supported Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar’s choice to continue batting in Manchester, despite Stokes’ proposal to call off the game. He remarked (as quoted by Cricbuzz):
“We thought they (Jadeja and Sundar) batted brilliantly. They were in their 90s, we thought they deserved a century there.”
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