Rohan Chowdhury in Manchester
Ben Stokes strode up to Ravindra Jadeja, nearing his century, and quipped, “If you wanted a century, you should have played like that. Do you really want a century against Ben Duckett and Harry Brook?” That was picked up by the stump mic on BBC Radio, and it wasn’t just a cheeky sledge. It was a theatrical moment. A scene from a match that felt more like a screenplay than a scorecard. A moral victory in words, from one of cricket’s finest dramatists.
India began their second innings staring down the barrel — 311 runs behind. A mountain, not just of runs, but of resolve, time, temperament. They would have to bat five sessions to save the game. What followed in the very first over felt like a script going horribly wrong. Chris Woakes struck twice, sending back Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan for ducks. India, reeling at 0 for 2, looked like they’d lost not just wickets, but control.
Enter Shubman Gill and KL Rahul. In walked calm and a purpose. Over the next few hours, they staged a masterclass in Test-match survival. Rahul batted for 287 minutes, and Gill for 282 on Saturday. Their partnership didn’t just rebuild — it resurrected India’s hope.
Day 4 drew to a close with more questions than answers. Could India hold on? Could England still force a result? Was there a twist left in this thriller? Perhaps a chance, but a huge task ahead of India. Only eight balls for England. An entire day for India.
Day 5 started with heartbreak — Rahul, on 90, fell to one that kept low, trapped LBW. Gill, soon after, brought up his century — 103 — becoming the first Indian to score a Test ton at Old Trafford since the great Sachin Tendulkar in 1990. It was his moment of coronation. But the job was far from done.
With time still to kill and demons in the pitch — low bounce, random lift, a fifth-day cocktail of uncertainty — it fell to Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar to see the mission through. And what a mission it was.
They weathered spells where the ball spat and kicked. They watched the ball like hawks, played with soft hands, and left with steely nerves. Slowly, steadily, session by session, they took one step at a time. And in the most dramatic fashion imaginable, both raised their centuries — the stuff of dressing room folklore. And it came in the most dramatic way, frustrating the English team, draining them out both physically and mentally.
“I can’t do anything.” Jadeja’s cheeky reply to Stokes’ appeal to shake hands frustrated him even more.
In the press conference, he mentioned, “I didn’t want to risk my prime bowlers. The draw was inevitable. I asked Harry Brook not to try something silly. We had already bowled many overs and we move on.”
As the final hour approached, a light moment brought levity to the theatre. The press box buzzed — “Why should they shake hands now? Go for the century!” — a moment that united the Indian and English scribes in laughter. Tension gave way to joy. The drama wasn’t just on the field; it was in the hearts of everyone watching.
As Jadeja and Washington slowly added their names to the Old Trafford centurions’ list, the handshake was done and the curtains fell. Cricket’s finest theatre got the loudest claps that echoed from every corner of the Old Trafford.
There will be debates on whether the handshake should have been done earlier or not, but they deserved their hundreds. Not for the lazy Harry Brook deliveries hit to the rope, but for the grit and patience they showed which dragged the match to the very end. Jamie Smith could clap in sarcasm as much he wanted, but a Test century is a Test ton, and the fact was England couldn’t get six wickets in over 300 deliveries.
This was Test cricket in its purest form — testing patience, determination, and wit. A story of collapse, defiance, and, ultimately, an escape from defeat to get a moral victory. Perhaps not a war film with barbed wire like Escape to Victory, starring Stallone, Pelé, and Bobby Moore, but in sporting terms – from 0 for 2 to a draw – batting for over one and half days, this draw indeed felt like a win. One authored by Gill and Rahul initially, and finished with flair by Jadeja and Washington.
Old Trafford was conquered in spirit. The Oval now beckons for the grand finale.
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