whether their Hundreds from Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar kept India’s hopes alive in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy after the fourth Test against England in Manchester ended in a draw on Sunday. With England leading the series 2-1, India still have a chance to draw the series by winning the fifth and final Test, starting on July 31 at The Oval.
After conceding a first-innings lead of 311, India were in a spot of bother with an aim to save the Test match. The visitors didn’t get the start they wanted with the dismissals of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan without a single run on the board.
But captain Shubman Gill (103) led from the front with a hundred and forged a 188-run stand with KL Rahul (90) to save the sinking ship with more than five sessions to go in the game. While Rahul missed on a hundred on the final day, Gill made sure India frustrate the English bowlers with their defensive approach throughout the day.
With vice-captain Rishabh Pant not in a position to bat, the pressure was on all-rounders Sundar and Jadeja to do the rest of the job. The duo put up a mammoth 203-run stand for the unbroken fifth wicket in 334 balls to save India’s day.
England captain Ben Stokes did try to finish the match early by having a talk with Jadeja and Sundar, but the Indians chose not to with an eye on individual hundreds. Both the batters were on eighties at that moment.
However, it didn’t take much long for them to complete three figure scores. While Jadeja sent Harry Brook over the wires to bring up his 11th Test ton, Sundar got his maiden international hundred with a single off Joe Root.
What’s next for India & England?
India will aim to square off the series with a win at The Oval, starting in a few day’s time. India are likely to have a few changes in their playing XI with Rishabh Pant being obvious. Dhruv Jurel is expected to replace Pant while Anshul Kamboj is likely to be rested. However, it is unknown whether Jasprit Bumrah will play in the fifth Test considering his workload.