Manchester Test: Tons from Gill, Jadeja, and Sundar pull off a stellar draw for India against England

MANCHESTER: Stellar centuries from Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar in the second innings guided India to secure a draw in the fourth test match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England at Old Trafford, Manchester on Sunday.

India batted for more than five sessions to save the Manchester Test. India, at the end of the final session on Day 5, was 425/4, with Jadeja 107* and Sundar 101* unbeaten at the crease. The duo added 203 runs for the fifth wicket.

Ben Stokes was awarded player of the match for his brilliant five-wicket haul, followed by a stellar hundred in the first innings. This was his consecutive POTM award in the ongoing series.

England went wicketless in the final two sessions after taking important wickets of Indian skipper Shubman Gill and KL Rahul in the first session.
After 35 years, India managed to draw a Test match at Old Trafford cricket ground; the last time visitors did so was in 1990.

India started the third session on 322/4, taking a slender lead of 11 runs, thanks to an unbeaten 100-run partnership between the two all-rounders, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja, who stepped up just when the team needed them the most, shutting the doors on England’s hopes of a late comeback, at least for the time being.

Sundar looked assured at the crease, batting on 57 not out at the break, while Jadeja once again showcased his ever-growing maturity in red-ball cricket with an unbeaten 53. This fifty from Jadeja is the most for India from a No 6 or below batter in a Test series (home or away), alongside VVS Laxman’s as many on the 2002 tour of the West Indies.

In the 128th over, India crossed the 350-run mark after Jadeja slammed a four off Liam Dawson; both batters increased the scoring rate in the final session. Sundar took on Joe Root in the 140th over as he smashed three back-to-back fours to take India past 400 runs.

In the following over, Jadeja slammed a six off Harry Brook to bring up his maiden century in England, his third against the hosts in Test. India also crossed a 100-run lead in the same over.

Sundar also, in the following over, completed his maiden hundred in Test Cricket.

Earlier in the second session, Sundar and Jadeja guided India to safety, at least for now. At tea, India reached 322/4, taking a slender lead of 11 runs, thanks to an unbeaten 100-run partnership between the two all-rounders.

The duo batted through the entire second session without losing a wicket, scoring 99 runs in 29 overs, a session of pure grit, patience, and smart batting.

Coming to the first session, Gill’s exceptional innings of 103 kept his side in the game as his side posted 223 runs with the loss of four wickets at the end of lunch on Day 5 against England.

At the stroke of lunch, visitors are 223/4, with Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja unbeaten on the crease. The Shubman Gill-led side still trails the Three Lions’ total of 669 by 88 runs.

Team India started the first session of the fifth and final day of the fourth Test from 174/2 with Gill (78*) and opener KL Rahul (87*) unbeaten at the crease.

Earlier in the match, England won the toss and opted to bowl, asking India to bat first. India made 358 in the first innings, with Sai Sudharsan being the top scorer for the visitors.

England posted a huge total of 669, taking a lead of 311 in the first innings with two centuries each from Joe Root and England skipper Ben Stokes.

India suffered an early blow in the second innings, losing two wickets in the first over. From their side, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill played throughout day 4 to put India into a fighting position.

Brief score: India 358 & 425/4 (Ravindra Jadeja 107*, Shubman Gill 103, Chris Woakes 2/67) vs England 669 (Joe Root 150, Ben Stokes 141, Ravindra Jadeja 4/143). (ANI)