After five days of hard fight, India salvaged a draw against England in the fourth Test at Manchester on Sunday. Staring down the barrel with a 311-run deficit at the start of the second innings, India batted out close to 150 overs to avoid a massive defeat.
Things looked bleak when India lost two wickets for no score in the first over of the second innings. However, KL Rahul and captain Shubman Gill forged a patient 188-run stand, batting for almost 70 overs. The two batters applied themselves to play for two full session yesterday and a bit more on the final day of the Test before Rahul was trapped in front of the wicket by England captain Ben Stokes.
While Rahul missed his century after being dismissed for 90, Gill went on to register a stunning record breaking ton. This was his fourth in the series and ninth overall.
However, it was spin allrounders Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja who batted for more than 50 overs and added 200 more runs for the fifth wicket to help India draw the match. Both the left-handers got to their centuries, before the two teams agreed on a draw. By this time, India had batted for 143 overs, scored 425 runs for the loss of just four wickets and gotten a lead of 114 runs.
Earlier, England had scored a mammoth total of 669 all out in reply to India's first innings score of 358 all out. England were helped by Joe Root's sensational 150-run knock, an innings in which he went past Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting to become the second highest run-getter in Test history, now only behind Sachin Tendulkar.
Stokes also made Indian bowlers toil hard with a knock of 141 runs, his first century in two years. The English captain had also picked five wickets with the ball. For India, Jadeja pciked up four wickets, while Sundar and Jasprit Bumrah got two wickets each.
Drama at the end of the day
With the mandatory final hour left, Stokes offered a draw. This was when Jadeja was batting on 89 and Sundar on 85. When India simply refused the offer, there were a few words exchanged between the English players and the two Indian batters at the crease. It took only a few more overs for the two batters to get to their milestones as England, visibly frustrated, bowled with batters Harry Brook and Joe Root. Jadeja and Sundar got to their centuries with a flurry of boundaries and agreed to a well earned, hard fought draw.
It was up to the boys and both of them in their 90s, they deserved to score centuries, said Gill on refusing Stokes' offer to call the game off before start of final hour.
Meanwhile, Ben Stokes said, "All the hard work was done by India. Didn't want to risk my fast bowlers with any injuries towards the end. Dawson bowled a lot of overs too. Even before this Test, there were conversations around how much effort and energy have gone into the bowling department."
The two teams now head to the Oval in England for the final Test with the series being led 2-1 by England.
Things looked bleak when India lost two wickets for no score in the first over of the second innings. However, KL Rahul and captain Shubman Gill forged a patient 188-run stand, batting for almost 70 overs. The two batters applied themselves to play for two full session yesterday and a bit more on the final day of the Test before Rahul was trapped in front of the wicket by England captain Ben Stokes.
While Rahul missed his century after being dismissed for 90, Gill went on to register a stunning record breaking ton. This was his fourth in the series and ninth overall.
However, it was spin allrounders Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja who batted for more than 50 overs and added 200 more runs for the fifth wicket to help India draw the match. Both the left-handers got to their centuries, before the two teams agreed on a draw. By this time, India had batted for 143 overs, scored 425 runs for the loss of just four wickets and gotten a lead of 114 runs.
Earlier, England had scored a mammoth total of 669 all out in reply to India's first innings score of 358 all out. England were helped by Joe Root's sensational 150-run knock, an innings in which he went past Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting to become the second highest run-getter in Test history, now only behind Sachin Tendulkar.
Stokes also made Indian bowlers toil hard with a knock of 141 runs, his first century in two years. The English captain had also picked five wickets with the ball. For India, Jadeja pciked up four wickets, while Sundar and Jasprit Bumrah got two wickets each.
Drama at the end of the day
With the mandatory final hour left, Stokes offered a draw. This was when Jadeja was batting on 89 and Sundar on 85. When India simply refused the offer, there were a few words exchanged between the English players and the two Indian batters at the crease. It took only a few more overs for the two batters to get to their milestones as England, visibly frustrated, bowled with batters Harry Brook and Joe Root. Jadeja and Sundar got to their centuries with a flurry of boundaries and agreed to a well earned, hard fought draw.
It was up to the boys and both of them in their 90s, they deserved to score centuries, said Gill on refusing Stokes' offer to call the game off before start of final hour.
Meanwhile, Ben Stokes said, "All the hard work was done by India. Didn't want to risk my fast bowlers with any injuries towards the end. Dawson bowled a lot of overs too. Even before this Test, there were conversations around how much effort and energy have gone into the bowling department."
The two teams now head to the Oval in England for the final Test with the series being led 2-1 by England.
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