New Delhi: What started as a battle to survive the day for India ended in England’s desperation to call it a day as the Shubman Gill-led visitors produced a spirited batting effort to force a draw in the 4th Test at Old Trafford in Manchester, saving the match and keeping themselves alive in the series. Ben Stokes and the hosts seemed to have had enough when the England captain offered to shake hands, with 15 overs left in the final day’s play.

But India held on, like they had in the last five sessions, to let Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar complete their respective hundreds before declaring their second innings on 425/4 to take a draw that would feel nothing less than a huge moral victory. From 0/2 at the start of the second innings, buried under a mountain of runs, India fought back to pull off one of the greatest escapes in recent Test history.

After losing two wickets on successive deliveries in the first over, chasing a huge 311-run lead in their second innings, India seemed all but out of the Manchester Test. But skipper Shubman Gill led from the front with a magnificent hundred and was supported by the incredibly consistent KL Rahul, before Jadeja and Sundar shared an unbeaten 203-run stand that broke England and saw India secure a defining draw.

India batted for five sessions across two days and faced 143 overs to deny England a victory and the series in what was a remarkable fightback from the visitors.........

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