Trailing by 311 runs going into their second innings, India staged a determined fightback, led by Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. Their unbroken stand of 203 runs ensured that the visitors avoided defeat and head into the final Test at The Oval with the series still on the line.
Resuming the final day on 112/2 and still behind by 137 runs, India relied on opener Shubman Gill and KL Rahul to steady the innings early on. The pair saw off the morning’s initial pressure, but Rahul narrowly missed out on a century, falling for 90 after being trapped lbw by Ben Stokes in the 71st over.
Gill, meanwhile, continued to shine. In the 82nd over, he overtook Yashasvi Jaiswal to become the Indian batter with the most runs against England in a single Test series, reaching 722 runs. He also set a record as the highest-scoring Asian player in a Test series in England. Gill reached his fourth century of the series in the very next over, joining an elite list of Indian greats — only Rahul Dravid has scored more centuries in England.
However, Gill’s fine knock ended shortly after reaching his hundred, when he edged a Jofra Archer delivery to Jamie Smith. At the lunch break, India were still 88 runs behind with six wickets in hand.
The afternoon session belonged to Jadeja and Sundar, who dug in to stabilise the innings. England’s bowlers couldn’t make use of the new ball, and the Indian duo steadily chipped away at the deficit. By tea, India had taken a narrow 11-run lead, with both batters comfortably past their half-centuries.
In the final session, the duo continued to frustrate the hosts, eventually taking India beyond 350 for the seventh time in the series — a new record in men’s Test cricket. Jadeja brought up his century in the 141st over, followed by Sundar two overs later.
With India at 425/4 and less than an hour of play remaining, both teams agreed to end the match in a draw. The result capped off a day of impressive resilience from the Indian side, who refused to let the series slip away. Ben Stokes was named Player of the Match for his all-round performance, having taken five wickets and scored a century earlier in the Test.
England now lead the five-match series 2-1, with the final Test scheduled to begin on July 31.
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