By the time the final hour began at Old Trafford, England were done. Literally and emotionally. Captain Ben Stokes walked up to the umpires, gestured that England had had enough. But the Indians weren’t budging. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar stood their ground. Both were in the 80s. Both in sight of hundreds. The draw was secure, but pride wasn’t negotiable. They wanted to bat on.

“How long do you need? An hour?” shouted one of the England players, irritation crackling beneath the overcast skies. The pitch was flat. The tension wasn’t. Stokes, visibly unimpressed, was going at the Indian pair. His team had thrown everything, and India had simply refused to yield.

For a side that had trailed by 311 runs and stood at 0 for 2 in the first over of their second innings, the sheer audacity to dictate terms by the end of Day 5 was the stuff of folklore. This wasn’t just a draw; it was a rebuke to the inevitability of defeat. It was the kind of day that keeps Test cricket alive.

ENG vs IND, 4th Test Day 5: Highlights

At lunch the previous day, even Michael Atherton had given up on India. “We were checking train times home as we all felt India were a bit down and out at that point,” he admitted on Sky. “Great respect to Gill and Rahul first of all for getting them through that initial crisis. Then it was over to Washington and Jadeja, who have taken it on terrific character from India.”

If Gill and Rahul were the resistance, then Jadeja and Sundar were the renaissance. Together, they carried the fight deep into the final session, stringing together a 100-run stand that not only wiped out the deficit but pushed India into the lead, forcing England to chase ghosts in the fading light.

But the journey to that moment was littered with bruises — both physical and mental.

Shubman Gill’s fourth century of the series came with the series on the line, the scoreboard reading 0 for 2, and Chris Woakes on a hat-trick. It was a captain’s innings for the ages — constructed with poise, patience, and palpable pain.

India had bowled 943 deliveries the previous day. Their bodies were heavy, legs sore, minds fraying. But Gill, carrying the pressure of expectation and his own uncertain form, found steel in adversity. Alongside KL Rahul, he staged a masterclass in restraint. Their 188-run partnership was not just about numbers. It was two men digging trenches and laying down the sandbags against an English siege.

Rahul, playing his 50th Test, was elegance tempered by grit. His 90 off 230 balls was understated yet unshakeable — an innings that added to India’s belief even without reaching three figures.

But then, just before lunch, came the turning point.

Jofra Archer, steaming in, got one to shape away. Gill, already struck on the glove and helmet, feathered one to Jamie Smith behind the stumps. The dam had cracked. India still trailed. England sensed their moment.

Two overs later, Stokes produced a delivery from around the wicket that skidded low and trapped Rahul plumb. Another surge of joy for England. Gill gone. Rahul gone. Pant padded up with a fractured toe. India’s lower order thin. And yet, what followed was a masterclass in composure and courage.

Enter Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.

The draw was still a mountain away. India were 174/4 at lunch, still 88 runs behind. But the left-handed duo chose their battles with care and never blinked. England rotated bowlers. They changed ends. They adjusted fields. Nothing worked.

Archer’s venom, Carse’s zip, Woakes’ probing lines, Root’s teasing flight, Dawson’s angles — none could breach the wall. There were edges that fell short, balls that beat the bat, lbw shouts turned down. But Jadeja and Sundar were batting not just with technique but with time. They survived. They persisted.

And then they began to push.

Sundar brought up his half-century with a six and a four. Jadeja got to his with a crisp boundary, taking India into the lead. That stroke — more symbolic than statistical — broke England’s spirit. From a position of dominance, they were now chasing a side that had looked dead and buried just 24 hours earlier.

Dawson came on after tea with a 7-2 leg-side field, hoping the rough outside off to the left-handers would do the trick. Stokes whispered plans into his ears. Everyone closed in. Jadeja stepped out and launched him over mid-wicket. Then drilled him straight down the ground. The plan was shredded.

Stokes rotated Dawson, switching him back over the wicket. Jadeja just smiled. It wasn’t cocky. It was quiet defiance.

Dawson had a long chat with his captain. England were out of ideas. They had all the overs, all the weapons. But none of the breakthroughs.

Meanwhile, Ben Stokes kept soldiering on.

Not fit to bowl on Day 4, he sent down eight overs on Day 5 despite obvious pain in his shoulder and hamstring. Grimacing after each ball, he still hit the pitch hard, one delivery even smashing into Gill’s thumb and helmet. It was raw. It was brave. But it wasn’t enough.

Stokes’ spell was a mirror to India’s character — gritty, unrelenting, unwilling to bow down to limitations. But while Stokes could not tilt the scales alone, India found allies in each other.

Sundar and Jadeja closed out a wicketless final session. The last hour was drama in slow motion. England were waiting for India to call it off. India didn’t. The batters stayed out. The scoreboard moved. England’s frustrations simmered. But there was no handshake yet.

Only when the last over was done did the players trudge off. No victors, but plenty of heroes.

In the end, this wasn’t a game that needed a winner.

It needed a story. And India gave it one.

They were two down in the first over. Pant was injured. Their bowlers had nothing left. Their captain was battered. And yet they batted. For 131 overs. They batted through the fire.

A draw, yes. But one forged like a victory.

The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy remains alive. So does the spirit of Test cricket.

– Ends

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