India vs England, 4th Test: Centuries from Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar take India to historic draw in Manchester

In what can be termed as one of their finest overseas batting performances, India negotiated more than five session to salvage a honourable draw in the fourth Test against England in Manchester. Having been 0/2 early on the fourth day with a deficit of 311 to chase, the game seemed all but done. However, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill put on 162 without being separated on Saturday to take the game into the fifth day. The former fell early on the final day to Ben Stokes while Gill departed soon after his hundred but England's hopes of sealing the series were thwarted by the spin all-round duo of Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja.

Sundar, promoted to no.5 due to Rishabh Pant's injury, showed commendable composure as he weathered everything that England threw at him with a resolute defence and tight technique. Jadeja, meanwhile, continued his purple patch in the series with another precious knock although he was lucky to be dropped first ball against Jofra Archer who had just seen the back of Gill. Had that catch been taken, who knows what could have happened to the result of the game.

Instead, Jadeja seamlessly got into his zen mode that has been a major thorn in England's flesh this series. Alongside Sundar, the pair hardly looked in any trouble on a pitch that appeared so slow that the variable bounce didn't matter much, certainly not against the softer Dukes ball. The second new ball was the only part of the day when England had a realistic shot of victory and Gill's dismissal during that period would have buoyed them for sure. Which is why that dropped catch of Jadeja will sting Stokes and co no end.

With all the drama and spice in the series, there was a box office moment at the fag end of play. Knowing that a result is improbable, Stokes opted to shake hands with only the final hour of play left. However, Jadeja and Stokes refused that invitation, probably to get to their respective hundreds. Stokes wasn't amused with that but along with the milestones, it was also India's chance to tire England just a bit more with the fifth Test almost around the corner. Stokes then set attacking fields so that the runs could come at a quicker pace and with it, the draw.

Jadeja and Sundar made full use of that as they raced away to their respective hundreds. As soon as Sundar got to his century, the two batters shook hands to signal a commendable draw for the visitors. Only for the second time in the history of Stokes-McCullum era, a Test had been drawn and coincidentally, both matches happened in Manchester. The pitch was too flat for most parts with only the new ball doing a bit and the easy-paced nature helped batters, although variable bounce did play a few tricks on the last two days. The slowness of the surface, however, allowed the batters to bat long and India capitalised on that to put up a superhuman batting effort.

Joe Root and Ben Stokes were the main stars of the Test with the latter having a five-wicket haul and a hundred in the first innings to give England a huge lead of 311. It was Root's century that put England on track for a big total and the no.4 batter also slayed a series of records in the process. He became Test cricket's no.2 run scorer of all time with only the great Sachin Tendulkar now in front of him. He also got to 38 Test tons with only Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Tendulkar ahead of him. The records kept tumbling for Root as England piled on their first 600-plus total at home since 2011. It was also the first time that India had conceded 500-plus in an away Test since 2015.

India, however, would rue their batting performance in the first innings when they could easily have gone on to get a total of 500 or 550. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan and Rahul were all guilty of not converting their starts while the freak toe injury to Rishabh Pant also derailed India's momentum big time on the opening day. The wicket-keeper batter did come out to bat on two despite the fracture and got to fifty but by then, India had lost the opportunity to make a mammoth total.

For most parts, this game was well-contested with England holding the edge but they just didn't do enough to get over the line. As for India, they were far from their best but did more than enough to avoid defeat. While the series cannot be won, Gill's men will take confidence and momentum from this heroic fourth innings effort as they go to The Oval for the fifth Test.