India will head to The Oval still alive in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy after an old-fashioned, backs-to-the-wall draw at Old Trafford. They occupied the crease for 143 overs in their second dig—more than a day and a half—turning 0 for 2 into 506 for 4 and, crucially, a handshake with England late on the final evening.
The tone was set once Shubman Gill and KL Rahul walked in together at three down the corridor and simply refused to budge. They put on 188 for the third wicket, chewed up almost 70 overs and more or less yanked India from the precipice. Gill later told BCCI.tv: “From 0 for 2, then the partnership KL bhai and I had, I think that ignited [the spark] yes, we can achieve this task”. He added, “Extremely happy. To be able to get a draw from the position we were in yesterday is extremely satisfying. This innings of mine was the most pleasing to me.”
Gill’s 103 was his fourth hundred of the series, drawing him level with Don Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar for most centuries in a single campaign in England. He now sits on 722 runs for the tour, 52 shy of Gavaskar’s Indian record; not bad company. Rahul’s scrappy, absorbed 90 nudged him past 500 runs in a series for the first time.
All that good work looked fragile when Gill nicked off to Jofra Archer at 222 for 4, the second established batter gone in three balls. England sensed blood; Gill simply nodded in the dressing-room and, one assumes, put the kettle on. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar then set up camp—proper camp, tents and all. By stumps, and by the time both captains finally agreed the game had run its course, the pair had piled up an unbeaten 203 for the fifth wicket.
Jadeja, dropped first ball by Joe Root in the cordon, went on to a spirited, risk-sprinkled 107, launching the six that took him to three figures because why not. Washington, elevated to No.5 in Rishabh Pant’s absence, compiled his maiden Test hundred—his previous best was 96 against these same opponents back in 2021. For a man who began the series at No.8, that is some promotion-earning statement.
“When Jaddu bhai and Washy were batting, it wasn’t easy,” Gill observed. “The ball was doing something, but the way they calmly batted and got Test centuries from there tells you how big of an achievement it is.”
The collective effort drew praise from pundits, Sanjay Manjrekar summing it up neatly: “’Warriors’ keep sprouting for India when needed,” he said on television. And while the surface slowed, there was still enough from Archer and Jimmy Anderson to keep batters guessing; India just guessed right more often.
Gill’s final thought on the grind felt as important as any stat. “To be able to have the same mindset for 140 [143] overs is very difficult. That’s what is the difference between a good team from a great team. We showed today why we’re a great team.”
One match remains, at The Oval. England still lead 2-1, but India now carry momentum—and, perhaps more vital, the belief that time, when harnessed properly, can be every bit as dangerous as swing, seam or spin.
