Resolute India battle out a draw in Manchester
Though India had early hiccups on the final day, a brilliant stand of 203 runs between Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar for the fifth wicket saw India through to a draw.
Skipper Shubman Gill, Jadeja and Sundar scored hundreds on a good batting day for India.
India began the day trailing by 137 runs with eight wickets in hand.
KL Rahul and Gill resumed proceedings against England's bowling attack. The duo were determined to see through the first hour. They saw off the initial overs, but Rahul (90) was trapped leg before by a beauty from Ben Stokes in the 71st over.
In the 82nd over of the day, Shubman Gill (722) overtook the tally of Yashasvi Jaiswal (712), to make him the India batter with most runs against England in a Test series. He also became the Asian batter with most runs in England in a Test series.
In the very next over, Gill brought about his fourth ton of the series. Now Gill stands only behind Rahul Dravid (6) in the list of India batters with most centuries in England. His fourth century helped him equal Rishabh Pant, Sachin Tendulkar, KL Rahul, and Dilip Vengsarkar.
He also became only the third India player to have scored four Test hundreds in a series after Sunil Gavaskar (Twice, in 1971 and 1978/79) and Virat Kohli (in 2014/15). Gill's stand in the second innings came to an end when he tried to cut Jofra Archer but ended up nicking the ball to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith soon after.
At lunch, India trailed by 88 runs with six wickets in hand.
The second session of play saw Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar settle in for a resolute fifth wicket stand, as England bowlers failed to make the most of the new ball in good batting conditions.
Jadeja crossed 1000 runs in England during his knock, making him just the third visiting player after Garry Sobers (in England) and Wilfred Rhodes (in Australia) to score a 1000 runs and pick over 30 wickets in a country.
The duo managed to overtake England's lead, and India were 11 ahead at Tea. Both batters had crossed their respective fifties.
The final session saw more fight from Jadeja and Sundar, with India crossing 350, a feat they had achieved for the seventh time in the series, the most by a team in Men's cricket.
The batters picked pace as they closed on their respective hundreds, with Jadeja achieving the landmark in the 141st over, while Sundar got to it in the 143rd over. As India reached 425/4, with less than an hour left, both sides shook hands to call it a draw. India's resilience on the final day was yet another example of the fight shown by the tourists throughout the Test.
Ben Stokes was the Player of the Match for his five-wicket haul and a century to go with it.
England lead the series 2-1, with one Test to go. The final Test begins at The Oval on 31st July. ICC World Test Championship, 2025/27Men's NewsNews
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