Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar played breathtaking unbeaten centuries on Sunday to enable India stage a thrilling draw with England in the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Old Trafford.
Having crumpled to 0 for 2 in their second innings and remaining 311 runs behind, India seemed to be on the verge of defeat—and with it, the series.
But a gritty and determined batting display, headed by Shubman Gill's 103, Jadeja's 107 not out, Sundar's 100 not out, and KL Rahul's 90 that proved to be crucial, turned things around and had the visitors leave with a dramatic draw rather than an annihilating defeat.
The deadlock leaves England maintaining a 2-1 advantage as they head into the series' decider at The Oval, which starts on Thursday. Day five was disappointing for the home side, particularly after Jadeja and Sundar, promoted to batting position number five since Rishabh Pant was out, chose to pursue individual goals rather than accept England's suggestion of a premature handshake.
In the last session, Jadeja took charge by sending Liam Dawson for two boundaries. Sundar then added to the damage with a nicely-timed drive from Chris Woakes to the fence. Jadeja piled on further with a disdainful lift down the ground and then sent a crisp boundary past mid-on off Joe Root.
The Indian all-rounder looked especially at ease against Root, blasting him for two consecutive boundaries. The second shot took the 150-stand with Sundar, who moved into the 80s with a neat drive through extra cover off the part-time spinner.
England skipper Ben Stokes invited the Indians to end the game in a draw during the last drinks break, but the Indians turned down the offer, firm in their decision to score their centuries. Jadeja had another boundary off Harry Brook, and Sundar came back with two gorgeous cover drives off Root to inch nearer to his milestone.
Sundar took the 90s by storm with a four off a pull shot. Jadeja completed his hundred in style, coming down the track to clear Brook for six before dispatching another full toss to the boundary. A six driven over extra cover off Sundar took the two-batsman score to 200. It was but a minute later, however, that he tapped a ball behind square to register the two runs to earn his first Test century.
With both sets of players reaching three figures, the captains finally shared a handshake, closing a thrilling draw. It was a relief result for India, with heroics from Rahul, Gill, Jadeja, and Sundar keeping the series alive for the decider.
Match Summary:
India 358 & 425/4 in 143 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 107, Shubman Gill 103; Chris Woakes 2-67, Ben Stokes 1-33) v England 669 in 157.1 overs (Joe Root 150; Ravindra Jadeja 4-143)*
Read also| Root's 150 and Stokes' Unbeaten 77 Power England to 186-Run Lead Over India in 4th Test
