India declined Stokes' offer for a draw in Manchester Test an hour ahead of the stipulated time.
England skipper Ben Stokes is hogging headlines for his antics in the final hour of the Manchester Test after India declined his offer of a draw to end the match an hour early.
Stokes approached the umpires and indicated his willingness to offer a draw. However, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar rejected the proposal, leaving the English captain irked.
At the time, Jadeja was batting on 89, 11 short of his fifth Test century, while Sundar was on 80, 20 away from his maiden Test ton.
After India’s decision to carry on batting, Stokes walked towards Jadeja and threw verbal jabs, questioning whether he truly wanted to score a Test hundred against Harry Brook.
The implication was clear - Stokes had no intention of using his main bowlers with the short turnaround between fourth and fifth Test. The hosts instead introduced part-timer Brook into the attack and deployed Joe Root from the other end.
Both Jadeja and Sundar capitalised on the soft bowling, racing to their centuries and then deciding to call it off.
After the game, former England cricketer-turned-commentator Nasser Hussain slammed Ben Stokes for his "silly" decision to toss the ball to Harry Brook in what seemed like a mark of protest.
"I didn't have a problem with it. I mean, I know England seemed to have a problem with it," Hussain said on Sky Sports.
"They're a little bit tired — tired bowlers, tired legs — they wanted to get off. The two lads had 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 there, 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 this Bazball regime — the other one on this ground as well, because of rain. This one was a draw simply because England couldn’t roll over the two left-handers, who were brilliant."
England were left ruing a missed opportunity to secure victory and an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series, despite holding a huge first innings lead of 311 runs at Old Trafford.
India, meanwhile, will take confidence into the final Test at The Oval in London, starting on July 31. They are currently 1-2 behind in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy but have a golden opportunity to draw the series in the finale.