A dogged Indian team put up a masterclass in Test match batting on a Manchester track on the final day, which didn't deteriorate as much and managed to draw the fourth game against England on Sunday, July 27. After being 311 runs behind, India needed to put their foot down, just not get out and not let England bat again. It was easy to say, but at 0/2, India were staring at an innings defeat and probably a Day 4 finish, but Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar later on, denied England what could have been a series-sealing victory.
India have a lot of issues to address before they get to London and prepare for the Oval Test, more so related to the team combination and the bowling attack having conceded 669 runs. However, the team will be mighty proud of the effort to lift themselves up from 0/2 and then be able to play out more than five sessions and draw a Test, an alien concept in England under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
This is just the second drawn Test since the duo took over England's red-ball leadership; the only one before was at the same venue against Australia in the 2023 Ashes. Stokes, who was the Player of the Match, mentioned that he would have looked at his century and a five-wicket haul a little differently had they resulted in a win but gave credit to the Indian left-handers Ravindra Jadeja and Washinton Sundar, who joined hands in the wee hours of the first session and batted for the rest of the day since then.
Gill, Jadeja, Sundar and the dogged fight
The first hour and a half on the final day belonged to Indian captain Shubman Gill, who slammed his fourth century of the series and forged a marathon partnership for the third wicket with KL Rahul, that lasted 417 balls, the longest for the visitors in terms of balls in England (where records are available). Losing both Gill and Rahul wasn't ideal as India were still 88 runs behind, but Jadeja and Sundar, along with a wicket that refused to blow up, first got used to the pace of the pitch and, on realising that nothing much was happening, they went for their shots.
The drama in the last half an hour could have been avoided, as both Jadeja and Sundar, for blunting the newish ball and then being able to stand up for the entirety of the day, deserved to get to their milestones after toiling so hard. It was a maiden Test century for Washington Sundar and the fifth for Ravindra Jadeja as both players eventually shook hands after getting to their milestones.
The drama and eventually the draw
Indian captain Shubman Gill rued the lack of a big score in the first innings as several batters got to their fifties but couldn't kick on, while Stokes alluded to the track that something was happening while bowling to the right-handers, but nothing when the left-handers were in play after wanting to bat just once, themselves.
England are still 2-1 and would want to win the series at the Oval, whereas India, on the other hand, will be keen to draw the series. With tired bodies and minds and a minimal gap between the two games, it will be interesting to see which side is switched on mentally and physically.
