Images from Day 5 of the fourth Test between England and India at Old Trafford in Manchester on Sunday.
Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja batted out more than two sessions to bring back India from the brink of a decisive defeat and pull off a draw for the ages in Manchester on Sunday, keeping the intensely fought series well and truly alive heading into the fifth and final Test at The Oval.
Having conceded a 311-run first innings lead before losing of their top order batters for ducks in the second innings, India displayed a steely resolve to bat out the entire fifth day, largely due to the efforts of captain Shubman Gill (103 off 238), K L Rahul (90 off 230), Jadeja (107 not out off 185) and Washington (101 not out off 206).
With inspirational England skipper Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer removing a well-set Gill and Rahul in the morning session, England sensed a series sealing victory but Jadeja and Washington batted out two sessions before milking the bowlers towards the end of the day.
Just before the start of last hour of play, Ben Stokes expressed his desire to end the game but India decided to carry on with Washington and Jadeja closing in on deserving hundreds. The England skipper was clearly not amused as he brought on his part-time bowlers.
The players finally shook hands after Jadeja and Washington completed their centuries, with the latter scoring his maiden Test hundred.
The day five track at Old Trafford did not have many demons with prominent movement and a bit of variable bounce was visible in the morning session when Gill and Rahul got out after a 188-run stand.
Considering the match situation, the dogged resistance from the two India left-handers in the second and final session was reminiscent of Ravichandran Ashwin and Hamuna Vihari's match saving stand in the Sydney Test of 2021.
Nursing a fractured toe, Rishabh Pant was available to bat in the second innings but he did not need to come to the middle and risk aggravation of his injury.
Strikingly, it was England's only second draw in the 40 Tests played in the Bazball era with the last one coming also at Old Trafford during the 2023 Ashes, where rain played a major factor.
With both sides struggling to keep their fast bowlers fit in a long and gruelling series, it would be interesting how many of the first choice pacers take part in the fifth Test, starting at The Oval from July 31.
At tea, India fought back to reach 322/4 after scoring 99 runs without giving a wicket courtesy of the two all-rounders.
Stokes, who looked lethal in his eight over spell in the morning, could not keep up the intensity in the three overs he bowled in the second session.
In a 15-run over from Stokes, Washington pulled the England captain for a six and four to bring up his fifty before Jadeja employed the cut to complete his fifth half-century in six innings.
What made England's life difficult is that left-arm spinner Liam Dawson was not able to challenge the Indian left-handers enough while Archer too get could not get a breakthrough post lunch. Dawson failed to use the rough created outside the left-hander's off-stump.
Earlier, Shubman Gill fell soon after scoring a gutsy hundred after Ben Stokes battled through pain to dismiss a well set K L Rahul.
Resuming the day at 174/2 with a deficit of 137, India stayed on course to draw the game courtesy a fighting effort from Gill, who brought up his fourth century of the series.
The India captain fell at the stroke of lunch to boost England's hopes of pushing for victory.
This will certainly rank as one of Gill's most defining century as it played a pivotal role in the draw and helped the visitors keep the series alive.
Ravindra Jadeja got a lifeline when he was dropped off the first ball he faced as Joe Root put down a catch at first slip off Archer,
Expecting the ball to come back in, Gill pushed away from the body only to get an edge off the Archer delivery that shaped away.
With India behind in the game, Gill was understandably disappointed at the time of his dismissal.
Captain Stokes was once again the key player for England on Day 5,
The 188-run marathon stand between Gill and Rahul (90) was finally broken when the latter was trapped in front by Stokes with a ball that kept a tad low from length.
Soon after, Stokes got one jump to sharply from a similar length that foxed Gill, leaving the Indian skipper in a lot of pain.
The rising ball first crashed into Gill's right thumb before taking a piece of his helmet.
It was remarkable that Stokes, who was not fit enough to bowl on day four, managed an eight-over spell on day five despite discomfort in his right shoulder and hamstring. Like at Lord's, he did not care much about his injury prone body to help the team's cause.
The new ball was taken after the 80th over and resulted in the wicket of Gill. Jadeja too would have be gone first ball but Joe Root could not hold on to a tough chance at first slip off Archer.
Left-arm spinner Liam Dawson bowled into the rough as he challenged left-hander Washington and hardly gave away any runs.
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