A video from the 2016-17 Rajkot Test between India and England shows Virat Kohli accepting England’s draw offer. The clip went viral after India’s fourth Test heroics at Old Trafford, Manchester, where Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar declined Ben Stokes’ offer.
Virat Kohli, Ashwin, and Jadeja stabilised India’s innings, completing 172/6 with wickets tumbling.
England set India 310 with 49 overs remained at Rajkot in November 2016. Virat Kohli accepted England skipper Alastair Cook’s handshake to end the match in a tie despite being one run short of his fifty.
See video below:
My man was never obessed to personal milestones. He never looked for personal milestones ahead of the team. pic.twitter.com/ya7dAT1WSe
— Abhay (@abhiiiisays) July 28, 2025
In the meantime, in July 2025, India was behind 311 runs in the fourth Test after England had reached 669 in the first innings. The Indian batters came back strongly after a terrible start. A fantastic battle was fought by Shubman Gill (103), KL Rahul (90), Ravindra Jadeja (107*), and Washington Sundar (101*). With India at 386/4 at the close of Day 5, England captain Stokes shook hands to end the match in a tie.
I didn’t want to put any of my front-line bowlers at risk: Stokes
But unlike in 2016, Sundar and Jadeja declined. The 90-year-old couple intended to reach personal goals and, more significantly, bring India’s comeback to a successful conclusion. The English side was irritated by their choice. Stokes then sent the ball to Harry Brook, a substitute. Sundar quickly reached his first Test century, while Jadeja smashed a massive six to reach his hundred. Stokes later hailed the Indian pair, despite his initial displeasure. He offered the draw because he was worried about his frontline bowlers and had a full schedule.
“We were willing to take it as far as we possibly could and throw everything at them that we did, but it got to that point where there was obviously only one result left on the table and I wasn’t going to be risking any of my frontline bowlers in a situation like that, especially when we’ve got a quick turnaround.” We were prepared to give it everything we had and push it as far as we could, but, given the short turnaround, Stokes told the BBC, “it got to the point where there was clearly only one outcome left on the table and I wasn’t going to be risking any of my frontline bowlers in a situation like that.”
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