Coach Gambhir credits players for showing character

Manchester: Every generation aspires for that era-defining performance, and this young transitional India team achieved that by batting out 143 overs against a determined England to pull off an incredible draw against all odds in the fourth Test here at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Coach Gautam Gambhir, who has gone through a lot of times in the longest format, suffering successive series defeats against New Zealand (0-3) at home and Australia (1-3) away, had something to cheer about as Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar belted unbeaten centuries, forging a 203-run partnership for the fifth wicket to star in the incredible draw. Prior to them, KL Rahul (90) and Shubman Gill (103) scripted the early fightback, and Gambhir doffed his hat to his wards for the collective show of grit.

“The most important thing is, these guys are going to learn a lot from what they did today, because being under pressure, batting five sessions, it's never easy on day five of the wicket against an attack like England. And then coming out with a draw, only losing four wickets, have to give to the guys the kind of character they showed,” said Gambhir at the post-match press conference.

Gambhir also lavished high praise on Rishabh Pant for coming out to bat with a fractured foot on the second day. “One thing I want to say is that the character and the foundation of this team will be built on something that Rishabh did for the team and for the country as well. Any amount of praise is not enough for him, especially batting with a broken foot. Not many people have done that in the past. And he had put his hand up, and that is why I say any amount of praise is not enough. I think the generations to come forward will talk about this.”

England skipper Stokes patted the backs of Sundar and Jadeja. “You've got to be skillful enough to get through the pressures of day five, particularly when you're behind the game like India were. I've got to give a lot of credit to the way that Washington and Jadeja played. That partnership was very, very crucial in being able to be in the position they are at the end of the game.”

Meanwhile, Gambhir declared that all bowlers will be available for selection for the fifth and final Test starting at The Oval on July 31 in response to a question on whether Jasprit Bumrah will play or not. 

Pant out of 5th Test 

India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who fractured his right foot on the opening day of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, was on Sunday ruled out of the final Test, reports DHNS from Manchester.

Tamil Nadu stumper Narayan Jagadeesan was named as the replacement for the series final, starting on July 31 at the Kennington Oval, London.

Squad: Shubman Gill (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj, Arshdeep Singh, N Jagadeesan (WK).