ENG vs IND 2025: Jadeja, Sundar, Gill and Rahul script history as India salvaged a draw at Old Trafford.
By the afternoon session of the third day’s play at Old Trafford, Joe Root and Ben Stokes were moving through a smooth partnership. It felt like India were going through the motions and expecting things to happen. They tried various plans with the ball, but nothing happened. Moreover, their premier pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, looked dead on his feet.
On the fourth morning, there were dropped shoulders with an expectation of holding the bat soon. But they lost two wickets in the opening over before the break. It can happen, especially after being in the field for two days. It’s always a lose-lose situation. From then, they had five sessions to bat for a draw.
Meanwhile, out of their remaining eight wickets, the best batter of the last five years, Rishabh Pant, had a foot injury. All of these just worked for Ben Stokes’ frustration when the visitors refused to shake hands to his proposal of drawing the fixture.
Read More: ENG vs IND, 4th Test: India salvage a draw courtesy special efforts by Jadeja, Sundar, Gill & Rahul
Shubman Gill & KL Rahul show resilience, grit, and character
The surface didn’t break a lot. Apart from a few balls of uneven bounce, it didn’t challenge much. It was expected after all the County Championship 2025 games at this venue ended in a draw. But it was about showing patience and temperament for the modern T20 batters. And then, there was the deficit of 311 runs.
Leader Shubman Gill faced several questions when he replaced Virat Kohli at number four and became India’s new red-ball captain. There were criticisms on his team selections, use of bowlers, planning in the field, and many more. But there was no doubt on his bat. This was the first proper challenge for the 25-year-old.
With him, it was KL Rahul at the other end. Even though he scored a century at Lord’s, the milestone delivery became the turning point in the 22-run victory. After all, he sold his partner, Pant, down the river while running between the wickets.
In Manchester, both showed determination from their respective ends. For a moment, it felt like a routine of switching on and off in between overs. There was no obsession with runs, let alone milestones, that Rahul didn’t even notice a mis-field late on the fourth evening. His batting was such that Stokes, despite his injured hamstring and sore shoulder, had to force himself into the attack.
The Karnataka-born ended with a 90-run knock after an unplayable delivery wrapped him on the pads. By then, he had faced 230 balls, which is nearly 40 overs. Out of five sessions, Rahul played more than one.
Gill, on the other hand, got a life when his uppish drive saw the ball burst through Ollie Pope’s soft fingers at cover. But with calmness and composure, he celebrated his fourth century of the series. As a captain, he joined an elite club of Sunil Gavaskar and Donal Bradman to score as many centuries in a Test series. After his 238-ball knock, the Punjab-born became the first Asian batter to cross the 700-run mark in a Test series in SENA country.
Read More: ENG vs IND, 4th Test, Day 4: Rahul-Gill put on 174* stand in India’s quest to save match
Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar- two all-rounders at different phases of their careers
Washington Sundar got a promotion at number five to cover the injury of Pant. At the start of his innings, Gill kept him away from the left-arm spinner, Liam Dawson. But post the captain’s dismissal, Sundar met Ravindra Jadeja in the middle. These are two spin all-rounders at two ends of their career.
The Saurashtra-born was nearly gone on the very first delivery. He got an outside edge as Joe Root juggled it thrice before putting it down on the floor. That was the only mistake from the southpaw. Towards the start of the innings, he was patient with leaving the balls.
However, during the afternoon session, Jadeja was freeing his arms on certain deliveries he was comfortable with. He became only the third visiting player to score over 1000 runs and take more than 30 wickets in a single country.
But amidst those aggressive shots, there was the silent batting from Sundar at the other end. When Gill kept him away from the left-arm spinner, Harry Brook reminded him of Jofra Archer. The Chennai-born accepted the challenge and faced the Barbados-born with authority. The duo batted 55.2 overs, as Sundar finally got his maiden century after being stranded on 96 and 85 before.
It was just the second drawn result for England in the Bazball era. The first one was during the Ashes 2023 at this ground due to persistent rain. By the end of 143 overs, their bowlers looked dead on their feet. The physical demand of the format is now against the home side.
They will turn up again in three days at the Kennington Oval in London. Both camps will have several selection headaches. But, India now have a chance to walk away with 2-2, which, at the point of conceding a 311-run lead, looked a sweet dream.
Special comeback 👏
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 27, 2025
Resolute batting performance ✨
An incredible effort from #TeamIndia batters in the 2nd innings in Manchester 🙌 #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/OsEXhghmV6
