In a suspenseful fourth Test match where momentum fluctuated wildly, India launched a dogged second-innings revival after England amassed a record 669-run first-innings score. Centuries from Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, who remained unbeaten, took India into Day 5 on 425/4, securing a hard-fought draw and keeping the series in the balance going into the last Test at The Oval. With the outcome, England lead the five-Test series 2-1.
England reacted to India's first innings score of 358 with a commanding batting performance, scoring a huge 669 in 157.1 overs at a rate of 4.26. Joe Root (150 off 248) and Ben Stokes (141 off 198) led the show with a vital 142-run stand that destroyed the Indian bowling attack.
Zak Crawley (84) and Ben Duckett (94) provided the impetus with a scorching 166-run opening partnership. While Ravindra Jadeja fought back with 4 wickets (4/143), and Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar contributed two each, the bowlers could not get the breakthroughs as England's depth of batting was too much to handle.
Previous, India had reached 358 in their first innings, a figure that now looks humble compared to what has been achieved. Yashasvi Jaiswal (58), Sai Sudharsan (61), KL Rahul (46), and Rishabh Pant (54) all got a start but could not convert them into big scores. Ben Stokes was the best bowler for England, taking 5 wickets for 72 runs in a 24-over long spell, while Jofra Archer took 3/73.
India's second innings began on a nightmare note, losing both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan for ducks in the first over, at 0/2. KL Rahul (90 from 230) and captain Shubman Gill (103 from 238) pulled off a vital rescue act with a 188-run alliance that stabilized the innings.
Once Rahul was dismissed, Washington Sundar came in with India still behind and put on a great 203-run unbroken partnership with Ravindra Jadeja. Sundar, batting with maturity galore, brought up his century off 206 balls, and Jadeja was rock-solid as well, scoring 107 off 185 balls.
England's bowlers worked hard on an ever-more aggressive pitch. The best of the bowlers in the second innings was Chris Woakes with 2/67. Archer was able to get rid of Gill, but the rest of the bowling unit was unable to breach the Sundar-Jadeja partnership with part-timers such as Joe Root and Harry Brook.
Liam Dawson bowled 47 overs for 95 runs but went wicketless, underlining the difficulties faced by England in forcing a breakthrough on a slow pitch.
In spite of having a 311-run advantage after the first innings, England were not able to overcome India's resistance, and the match concluded in a closely contested draw on Day 5. England now have a 2-1 lead in the five-match Test series, thanks to this victory, and the series moves on to The Oval for the last Test, where India will be eyeing to level the scores and prevent a home series loss.
