India and England draw fourth Test

Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar scripted one of the greatest comebacks in the history of Indian cricket with exceptional centuries, helping the visitors pull off an improbable draw against all odds versus England in the fourth Test here on a riveting Sunday.

Well behind the eight-ball after England had piled up a record 669 all out in response to India’s 358 all out, the visitors’ dream of doing the impossible at Old Trafford hinged on how long the overnight pair of KL Rahul and Shubman Gill could anchor the ship. Resuming the final morning on 174/2 and still 137 runs adrift of making England bat again, they faced an extremely arduous task of keeping the series, still locked 2-1 in favour of the hosts, alive.

They were on the back foot early on themselves as an inspired Ben Stokes, the man with the Midas touch, removed Rahul (90) in the seventh over of the morning with a cracking in-swinger that stunned the elegant right-hander. Stokes was all pumped up and so were England. And the hosts looked like they would close in on a resounding win when Jofra Archer dismissed Gill, who had just conjured a brilliant 103 despite being struck on the hand and helmet, six minutes before lunch. The lid on the coffin was closed, the nails were hammered with only the final rites to be performed.

Sundar (101 n.o., 206b) and Jadeja (107 n.o., 185b), however, had other plans with an unbroken 203-run partnership for the fifth wicket where they soaked up all the punches England threw at them at the start before counter-punching bravely as their confidence grew to give this transitional Indian side an era-defining draw. Sometimes in Test cricket, a draw can feel like a win, and the Indians will certainly feel like having survived a gruelling 143 overs to score 425/4.

Ever since Sundar was picked for the second Test in Birmingham, where the track was almost sub-continental in nature, his selection has been widely debated, questioned in fact. Given how batting-friendly surfaces have been in this Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, critics have wanted the management to field Kuldeep Yadav, as they believe the left-arm wrist-spinner could be the X-factor. But Gill has copped the flak and backed Sundar to the hilt for his superior batting abilities.

Sundar repaid the skipper’s faith in him with a chance-less innings that was almost as good as Rahul’s. Usually accustomed to coming at No. 8, which is an injustice to his talent considering he started his cricketing journey wanting to be a top-order batter rather than an off-spinner, Sundar was promoted to No. 5 this time, ahead of seasoned pro Jadeja.

The pressure was high as Stokes, despite bowling with discomfort in his main right arm, breathed fire. Every ball he bowled, something kept happening, some even spitting off the surface and taking chuffs of wicket along with it. A ball even struck Gill in the bottom hand and crashed into his helmet, chipping a piece of the peak. Stokes even unleashed Jofra Archer, who has an exceptional record against left-handers.

The 25-year-old Sundar, though, remained unflustered. He defended brilliantly, nicely reading the line of the ball. At the same time, he didn’t get bogged down too, always on the lookout for the singles to keep the scoreboard ticking and England on their toes.

Sundar’s cause was helped by the presence of Jadeja at the other end. The veteran, who was dropped off the first ball at slip by Joe Root, made England pay dearly with his perfect blend of defiance and belligerence. Hailed as the ‘Most Valuable Player’, he marshalled the resources remarkably with the young Sundar before going on to bring up his fifth Test century. Soon after Sundar too joined the party with his maiden ton as Indians rejoiced a great day in Manchester.