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Former India spinner R Ashwin<\/a> has criticised England for the draw controversy in the last session of the Old Trafford Test match against India<\/a>.<\/p>\n Drama unfolded in the closing stages of the Old Trafford Test. After conceding a 311-run first-innings lead, India batted for 138 overs to position themselves for a hard-fought draw. Washington Sundar<\/a>, promoted to No.5 for the first time, staged a gritty rearguard alongside Ravindra Jadeja<\/a>, with both batters inching toward centuries.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when tensions flared. With the final hour set to begin, England\u2019s captain signalled to the umpires that they were ready to settle for a draw. But Sundar (80*) and Jadeja (89*) wanted to bat out the remaining hour – a decision that visibly frustrated Ben Stokes.<\/p>\n “Do you really want to score a hundred against Harry Brook?” Stokes remarked sarcastically to Jadeja.<\/p>\n “What do you want me to do? Just walk off?” Jadeja shot back.<\/p>\n Amid the exchange, Zak Crawley chimed in: “You can just shake hands.”<\/p>\n Stokes then turned to Harry Brook<\/a> and Joe Root<\/a> to bowl in tandem. Brook delivered a string of slow looseners over his next three overs, allowing Jadeja and Sundar to comfortably reach their respective centuries. Finally, after the 143rd over \u2013 with Sundar having completed his ton \u2013 India agreed to shake hands, ending the match in a dramatic draw.<\/p>\n Stokes\u2019 reaction to India\u2019s refusal to accept an early draw sparked mixed reactions<\/a>, with R Ashwin becoming the latest to weigh in on the controversy.<\/p>\n Ashwin questions England’s double standards <\/p>\n “Have you heard of a term called double standards? They\u2019ve shown the definition of double standards in pictures over the last ten minutes,” Ashwin said on his Hindi YouTube channel Ash ki Baat<\/a>.<\/p>\n “I know you can show your frustration \u2013 you can\u2019t win the game, you can fight with your players, you can throw your helmet around, after the match you can hit a wall, you can throw bottles, you can do boxing, you can do anything \u2013 and please, do it. But you\u2019re shaking hands, saying, ‘I\u2019m frustrated, so you also shouldn\u2019t be happy \u2013 don\u2019t make a hundred, just cry and leave.’<\/p>\n “What is this? How can this happen? You\u2019re saying, ‘I\u2019m unhappy, so you don\u2019t be happy.’ Boss, since morning, he\u2019s played your entire attack \u2013 your Archer, your Matthew Hoggard, Darren Gough, Andrew Flintoff \u2013 he\u2019s faced every bowler. Now, these two have taken their team towards a draw. They\u2019ve worked hard all day to get here. Should they leave without reaching their hundreds?” Ashwin questioned.<\/p>\n India refused when Ben Stokes offered a handshake when Jadeja and Sundar were nearing their centuries.<\/p>\n R Ashwin was not impressed by the incident and criticised England\u2019s conduct.#ENGvIND<\/a> #BenStokes<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/RbS8bERjiD<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Wisden (@WisdenCricket) July 28, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n The former India spinner added: “What was your question? ‘You want to make a hundred against Harry Brook?\u2019 No, brother, he wants to make a hundred. Bring Steve Harmison, bring Flintoff \u2013 did he stop you from that? You\u2019re asking Brook to bowl \u2013 that\u2019s your fault, not ours.<\/p>\n “Secondly, I want to ask Zak Crawley<\/a> \u2013 what was your role there? Honestly, I\u2019m disappointed. They should\u2019ve bowled underarm like Trevor Chappell \u2013 it would\u2019ve felt even better. Please, don\u2019t talk about the spirit of cricket or sportsmanship. For that, you need to sit somewhere and do something. This is foolhardiness. This is ridiculous.”<\/p>\n Ashwin: India were well within their rights <\/p>\n Ashwin believes “India were well within their rights” to bat in the final hour after refusing Stokes’ proposal for an early draw. He went further, stating he wished India had batted out the remaining 15 overs.<\/p>\n “Let\u2019s understand the rule first. What\u2019s the rule? If both captains agree the game can\u2019t reach a result, they can shake hands after mandatory overs and call it a draw. One captain wanted to close the game. Why? Two reasons: He didn\u2019t want to tire his bowlers. Understandable. Secondly, \u2018I\u2019m frustrated. I\u2019m not happy, so you shouldn\u2019t be happy either \u2013 don\u2019t make hundreds.’<\/p>\n “The second point doesn\u2019t fall under the rules. On the first point, India were well within their rights. In fact, if I were India, I\u2019d have stayed there for the remaining hour, played all 15 overs.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “As an international captain \u2013 someone who claims to understand the spirit of cricket and acts as its brand ambassador \u2013 you should\u2019ve bowled those 15 overs with Brook. It would\u2019ve been a great advertisement for the spirit of cricket. Like Sunil Gavaskar and Rishabh Pant did, it would\u2019ve been even better than that. You\u2019d have been the poster boy of sportsmanship.<\/p>\n “His statement: ‘You want to get a hundred against Harry Brook?’ Of course, he does; these are Test runs. He wants it, and he deserves it.”<\/p>\n Ashwin criticises Crawley and Brook <\/p>\n “And Crawley\u2019s point \u2013 ‘Is this how you want to make a hundred? Well, you should\u2019ve batted faster if you wanted yours.’ That\u2019s his choice when he makes it. If you want to score faster, do it \u2013 reach 70 and get out. That\u2019s your game.<\/p>\n “I\u2019m asking Crawley and Stokes: Would you have left your hundreds for the spirit of the game if you were batting at the end? Don\u2019t make us laugh. I don\u2019t even feel like laughing in their faces.<\/p>\n “That\u2019s why I don\u2019t see this as a draw; it\u2019s an Indian win going into the next Test. Who knows what\u2019ll happen there? Both sides will have tired bowlers. But I\u2019m extremely proud of this Indian team. This is a phenomenal draw.<\/p>\n “Massive respect for Joe Root. When he was bowling off-spin at the end, he didn\u2019t act like Brook \u2013 because he knows the value of runs. That\u2019s why he\u2019s nearing Sachin Tendulkar\u2019s record for most Test runs.<\/p>\n “But I want to see how many experts will talk about this in the coming three days. During Shubman Gill’s incident at Lord\u2019s, everyone asked if it ‘distracted’ him. Will they ask the same about Crawley and Stokes?<\/p>\n “For Stokes, fine, he was frustrated. But Crawley\u2019s role in this, and Harry Brook bowling like that? It\u2019s laughable.”<\/p>\n Both Sundar (101 not out) and Jadeja (107 not out) batted for 332 deliveries for their unbeaten 203-run stand. That\u2019s the seventh-highest number of balls any pair has faced together in a third innings of a Test match in England (where ball-by-ball records are available).<\/p>\n India’s 143-over effort ranks as their third-longest batting performance in either the third and fourth innings of a Test in England. Their record remains the 148.2 overs batted at The Oval in 2021, when they scored 466 despite conceding a 99-run first-innings deficit – going on to win the Test by 157 runs.<\/p>\n Follow Wisden for all England vs India<\/a> updates, including live scores<\/a>, latest news<\/a>, team lineups<\/a>, schedule and more. The live streaming details for the ENG vs IND series in India, UK, USA and rest of the world can be found here.<\/a> For Wisden quizzes, head here.<\/a><\/p>\n Cover StoriesTrending StoriesCover Stories AsiaCover Stories UKCover Stories IndiaSeries Cover Stories<\/p>\n