India’s hopes of salvaging the fourth Test received a significant boost on Sunday as captain Shubman Gill led from the front with a gritty century before Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja added vital unbeaten fifties to deny England a series-clinching win on the final day at Old Trafford.
By tea, India had reached 322 for 4 in their second innings, holding a slender 11-run lead after England’s imposing first-innings total of 669. The visitors, who were reeling at 0 for 2 early on Day 4, staged a spirited fightback through Gill and KL Rahul, before the lower middle-order pair of Sundar and Jadeja further dug in to frustrate the hosts with a resilient 100-run stand.
Gill, who resumed the day on 78 alongside Rahul (87* overnight), brought up his century off 228 deliveries, that included 12 boundaries. His calm presence at the crease helped steady India after a horror start to the innings, where Chris Woakes removed both openers off successive deliveries without a run on the board.
England’s skipper Ben Stokes, having already produced a phenomenal all-round performance with 141 runs and 5 for 72 in the first innings, returned to bowl on Day 5 despite visible discomfort. He dismissed Rahul with a sharp delivery that kept low and nipped back to trap the opener leg-before on 94, denying him a third century of the series.
Stokes, who had undergone hamstring surgery earlier this year, bowled through pain, frequently grabbing at his leg and shoulder during his eight-over spell with the old ball. Yet, it was Jofra Archer who eventually broke Gill’s concentration, tempting the India captain into a loose flick outside off stump. Gill edged to the keeper for 103, ending a marathon 228-ball innings that had anchored India’s resistance.
In the process, Gill set a new benchmark for Indian batters against England in a Test series, overtaking Yashasvi Jaiswal’s record of 712 runs in the 2023-24 campaign, taking his series tally to 722.
Shortly after, Jadeja offered England a rare chance when he edged Archer to slip, but Joe Root failed to hold on to a leaping catch. That proved costly, as Jadeja and Sundar, unflustered after the interval, handled England’s bowlers with maturity. Sundar reached his half-century with a six and a four off Stokes, while Jadeja followed with a cut for four to raise his own fifty, his fifth of the series, celebrated with his signature sword-swinging gesture to a raucous crowd of Indian supporters.
