ENG vs IND | Old Trafford Test: Talking points ft. Milestone man Root and 3D players Stokes and Jadeja

07/29/2025

Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar during the Old Trafford Test

India held on to a draw against England in the fourth Test in Manchester on Sunday. Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar scored gritty centuries while KL Rahul chipped in with a fifty as India batted out time in the second innings despite trailing by 311 runs after the first innings.

‌Though India trail the five-Test series 2-1, they will head into the fifth and final contest at The Oval in London with a slight edge over England after earning a morale-boosting draw at Old Trafford in Manchester on Sunday. It was another excellent game of Test cricket, though neither side could win it, and here are some of the talking points.

Resilient India

After a middling batting display in the first innings and a horrific start to the second, India was able to claw its way back into the match to keep England at bay. After conceding a lead of 311 runs, the visitors were down to 0/2 in the first over in their second essay. But KL Rahul and Shubman Gill were not ready to throw in the towel as the pair batted for a whopping 70 overs during their partnership of 188 to frustrate the home side. This stand was the highest third-wicket partnership in the history of Test cricket after a side had been reduced to 0/2. Gill got to his fourth hundred in the series while Rahul missed out on a deserving century.

Another gigantic unbeaten partnership of 203 runs for the fifth wicket between Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar had the visitors plotting one of the greatest escapes from the jaws of defeat. The left-handed pair blocked out England for two sessions on the final day en route to memorable century knocks to end the Test on a high.

Milestone man

Joe Root was living a dream during his knock of 150 in England’s first innings, which laid the foundation for a huge total. During the early stages of his innings, the former England captain went past Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis to be third on the list of highest run-getters in Tests. He then equalled Kumar Sangakkara’s tally of 38 hundreds before going past Ricky Ponting to be second behind Sachin Tendulkar for most runs. Root now has 13409 runs and is away from the former Indian batting maestro by 2512 runs.

The true all-rounders

The game also saw an exciting battle between two of the best all-rounders of the modern-day game. England skipper Ben Stokes picked up five wickets in the first innings to restrict India to 358 before coming up with a fighting century to power his side to a mammoth 659. Even after suffering a hamstring strain, the all-rounder returned to continue his batting innings and bowled his heart out in the second to push India to the brink.

Jadeja backed up his four-wicket haul in the first innings with a game-changing century in the second innings to help keep India alive in the five-match series. Though he was dropped off the first ball of his innings, the southpaw quickly made amends to play one of the best knocks of his career and built a crucial partnership alongside Sundar.

The unnecessary handshake

The handshake episode will go down as a sour note in an otherwise enthralling contest in the longest format of the game. With both Jadeja and Sundar set to reach memorable centuries, England captain Ben Stokes requested the umpires and the Indian pair for an early close. The pair, however, had other ideas as they snubbed Stokes to continue with the game. The England side were not impressed as they made their displeasure clear to both the batters.

With another Test match coming up in three days, Stokes was well within his rights to ask for a handshake as the quicker bowlers had already sent down so many overs. But he should have carried on with the play once the Indian batters disagreed rather than cribbing to both that they will have to score their centuries against part-timers like Harry Brook, which made for a bad watch.

Is Washington Sundar the next big thing in Indian cricket

Sundar could not have timed his maiden international century better, helping India to a battling draw at Old Trafford. The southpaw came into the middle at number five, ahead of Ravindra Jadeja and the injured Rishabh Pant, in the second innings to repay the faith shown in him by captain Shubman Gill and coach Gautam Gambhir.

He was part of the action for close to 73 overs, bringing up a match-saving hundred on a wearing last-day pitch. The batter has given a good account of himself in his short but noteworthy career, averaging a shade below 45 in 12 matches. With Ravichandran Ashwin retired and Ravindra Jadeja in the twilight of his career, Sundar is in pole position to be India’s top-spin bowling all-rounder.

Rishabh Pant, the ultimate fighter

Rishabh Pant showed what he was made of when he returned to bat with a fractured foot on day two of the fourth Test. After getting hit by Chris Woakes while attempting a reverse sweep on day one, scans revealed a fracture in Pant’s right foot. The wicketkeeper-batter, despite being ruled out of the Test series, with doctors advising six weeks' rest, limped on to the field amid thunderous cheers from the fans.

With the side requiring his services, Pant put his body on the line as he completed his half-century and extended India’s batting in the first innings. The visitors will surely miss his presence in the final Test at The Oval in London.