With the last over of play about to start at Old Trafford on Day 5 of the fourth Test, things got dramatic. India had fought tooth and nail to ensure that England were not going to win after a fabulous partnership between Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. And draw imminent, captain Ben Stokes went to the Indian batters and offered his hand to call and end to the match before the last hour’s play was to start. But with Jadeja and Washington batting on 89 and 80, the Indians didn’t take the offer from Stokes and chose to continue batting.
The relevant rule in the Playing Conditions for Test cricket is “12.7.6 Last Hour” and reads: A minimum of 15 overs shall be bowled in the last hour and all calculations with regard to suspensions of play or the start of a new innings shall be based on 1 over for each full 4 minutes (refer to clause 12.7.9 below). 22 On the final day, if both captains (the batters at the wicket may act for their captain) accept that there is no prospect of either side achieving a victory, they may agree to finish the match after (a) the time for the commencement of the last hour has been reached OR (b) there are a minimum of 15 overs to be bowled, whichever is the later.
Shortly after this drama, Jadeja scored his century as England resorted to bowling loopy deliveries to him through Harry Brook. Jadeja slammed a six down the ground to score his 2nd Test century. There was a line heard on the stump mic: “Jaddu, do you want to get a Test 100 against Brook & Duckett?” which was attributed to Stokes later on in the post-match show by JioHotstar. Jadeja is then quoted as asking: “What do you want me to do, just walk off?” Zak Crawley then chips in saying: “You can, just shake your hand.”
— Pat (@starlord_208) July 27, 2025
“The England players are not applauding the century here, they are standing with arms folded. I’d ask them to keep batting, and keep the team on the field for the full 15 overs,” former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said on commentary on Sony Sports Network. He went on to add that someone should question England in the media conference why they batted till they scored 669 in their first innings, and not declare earlier.
The players did eventually shake hands in the end after Washington Sundar got to his maiden Test century. As play was called off, former England captain Michael Atherton, on air for Sky Sports, called it farcical bowling from Brook in the end, but that Washington has earned this moment to score his first Test ton.
Both the captains were asked later on about the incident at the end. Shubman Gill said the decision was taken by the two batters in the middle. “Definitely, it was up to the boys, but we thought they batted brilliantly, you know, and both of them were on the 90s (actually 80s). So we thought they deserved a century there.”
Stokes, who appeared frustrated even after the draw was called, said he didn’t want to risk injuries to his bowlers: “I think all the hard work was done by India, they both (Washy and Jadeja) played incredibly well, and it got to that point where there was only one result possible. There was absolutely no chance I was going to risk any of my big fast bowlers through injuries with one more game to go. Dawsy’s (Liam Dawson) just bowled so many overs this game, his body started to get a little bit tired and started to cramp up in the legs, so I wasn’t risking any of my frontline bowlers for that last half an hour.”
