The power shift was absolute. Ben Stokes offered his hand for the draw but India slapped it away to emphasise their total dominance at the end of the fourth Test.
England took the draw worse than a defeat, not covering themselves in glory as they reacted to centuries by Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar with churlish cynicism.
It is in keeping with their view of the sport as a team game that once the final hour started with India 75 ahead, the match was over as a contest so why not pull up stumps?
But a clash of cultures ensued: India treasure individual milestones so Shubman Gill, their captain, allowed both batsmen – Jadeja on 89, Sundar 80 – to complete deserved hundreds. Stokes brought on Harry Brook (bowling average: 105) to make his point. “This one will mean a lot,” said a sarcastic Ben Duckett when Sundar was on 99.
Stokes was man of the match, and left wondering how his team did not win a game in which he scored a hundred and took a five-for. “I’d give the bottle of champagne and the medal back in a heartbeat if we were on the right side of the result,” he said in the thinnest of veiled swipes.
England only had themselves to blame for taking just two wickets in 143 overs, dropping three catches: Gill on 46 and 81 and Jadeja first ball when Root could not hold on to one above his head. Gill scored 103, putting on 188 with KL Rahul, and Sundar and Jadeja added an unbroken 223 for the fifth wicket in 56 overs.
Frustration and aching bodies caused England’s irritability but Gill seized the opportunity to make a point. His team went from falling apart at nought for two, 311 behind at lunch on day four, to 424 for four at the end of day five and calling the shots.
Would Stokes really have denied two of his players a hundred in the same circumstances after playing so well under such pressure? This was Sundar’s maiden Test century and Jadeja’s after he batted for more than three hours to take India to within 22 runs of winning at Lord’s.
The rancour sets up the fifth Test at the Oval on Thursday where the series will be decided. Who will still be standing by then? Stokes did not know which part of his body to clutch first. Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer were cooked and Chris Woakes ineffective. Liam Dawson failed to take a second innings wicket and a seamer’s pitch at the Oval may mean his comeback lasts one match.
India did not even have to ask Rishabh Pant to risk further damage to his injured foot as their middle order formed an unbreakable barrier. It meant Stokes failed to create history by becoming the first captain to bowl first and win a Test at Old Trafford. He also had to dig out a dictionary to look up the meaning of the word “draw” – this being the first genuine, non-rain-affected, stalemate of his captaincy. It was the fifth in a row in red-ball cricket at Old Trafford this summer and follows the rained-off game against Australia here two years ago.
It was not a good day for Dawson or county cricket. England listened to the county circuit when they picked Sam Cook against Zimbabwe and he took one for 119. Dawson, the leading all-round performer in county cricket for the past couple of years, bowled 47 wicketless overs in the second innings when England needed their spinner to bowl them to victory. At one stage Stokes asked him to vary his angles of attack and did not look hugely impressed when Dawson failed to maximise the rough outside the left-handers’ off stump.
But Dawson was not alone. England’s seam bowling apart from Stokes, was flat. Carse has not taken a single wicket with a ball older than 20 overs in this series. His figures of nine wickets at 60 do not look good. Only Stokes is a threat, especially with the older ball. In this series he has taken six wickets with a ball between 41 and 80 overs: the other seamers have managed two between them.
Stokes’s body went through the wringer. His shoulder, calf and hamstring left him wincing but he always carried on. He seized the ball at the start of the day after not bowling on Saturday with India restarting 137 behind. Stokes reeled through eight overs in a spell of riveting drama, going head-to-head with Gill and Rahul.
Stokes threatened a wicket virtually every ball across his eight overs of one for 12. He had Gill dropped off his 11th ball, Ollie Pope missing a chance above his head at cover, thumped a short ball into the gloves and helmet of the India captain.
He put one foot wrong reviewing a catch behind off Rahul. It was not out and England were out of reviews.
All the while Stokes was rubbing his right bicep, trying to soothe a muscle tweak he sustained doing the gentlest of warm ups before play. And it was noticeable that it was only a half punch of the air when his nip-backer removed Rahul leg before for 90.
Archer broke Gill’s resistance five minutes before lunch, a flat footed waft outside off stump the result of tiredness. When Root dropped Jadeja next ball at slip, Archer slumped to the ground holding his head but India still had two sessions to survive. Surely there would be more opportunities.
India only added 49 in the first session but soon the prospect of England batting again dawned as Dawson and Archer let them off the hook after lunch. Jadeja and Sundar could pick off easy runs and settle in. The second session was wicketless and Dawson’s first over after tea went for nine as the momentum started to shift.
Zak Crawley was told off for deliberately throwing the ball in on the half volley in an effort to scuff up for reverse swing such was England’s desperation. Stokes tried one more spell at the Brian Statham End, a curious decision given he had caused his trouble at the opposite end. “One last push,” Stokes later said.
Archer had one more fruitless go after tea as the match started to drift. Stokes tried his best to call it off, knowing India would not take the offer. Jadeja slapped Brook for six for his hundred, Sundar reached his two overs later, by which time everyone had seen enough.
Ben Stokes has admitted he may not be able to bowl as his battered and bruised team pick themselves up from a gut-wrenching draw for “one last push” at the Oval from Thursday.
Stokes revealed he had been suffering pain in his right bicep tendon – to go with various other injuries – as he only bowled 12 overs as India survived for a draw at Old Trafford. “Mentally decent, physically been better,” was his assessment.
The captain confirmed he would play the final Test on Thursday but could not say for sure that he would bowl. He also admitted other members of his bowling attack will need a rest, with Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse out on their feet after four Tests and Jofra Archer just two matches into his red-ball return. Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue are in contention to come in, while Jamie Overton is expected to be added to the squad.
“It’s been a big five or six weeks,” he said. “I will always give everything I possibly can. I ask the guys to try to run through a brick wall for the team and I will always try to do the same and lead by example. Bowling, being in the field is tough work, so I am pretty sore.
“I think everyone is going to be pretty similar: shut it down, rest up. Give themselves the best chance of selection. I won’t hide away from the fact it has been a tough few days, especially for the bowling unit. We like to get our team out a couple of days before, but we might have to take longer to give everyone as long as they can to recover.
“We are going in 2-1 up but we want to put that last big performance in. We kept saying today, one last push before one last push next week. There is a lot of hard work to go in this series.”
India will be without Rishabh Pant at the Oval. The India coach Gautam Gambhir added voice to those calling for the introduction of injury substitutes in cases like Pant’s – he broke his foot on the first day – but Stokes disagreed strongly.
“I think it is absolutely ridiculous there is a conversation around injury replacements,” he said. “There would be too many loopholes for teams to go through. You pick your 11 for the game, injuries are part of the game. I completely understand concussion replacements, that is player welfare and safety. But the conversation should stop around injury replacements. You stick me in an MRI scan and I could get someone else in straight away. Any bowler in an MRI scanner would have a bit of inflammation around the knee. Ah, sweet, let’s get a fresh bowler in. I think that conversation should be shut down.”
[On his various injuries] It’s been a big 5-6 weeks. I’ll always give everything I possibly can. I ask the guys up there to run through a brick wall for the team and I’ll always try to do the same to lead by example. Bowling, being out in the field,… It’s tough work and, yeah, I’m pretty sore.
[On his shoulder specifically] It’s just a workload thing. I’ll keep trying, keep going. And as I always say to the bowler, ‘Pain is only an emotion!’
As the game progressed you could see the wicket become to bat on. It was tough for the right-handers this morning with the variable bounce, but it didn’t seem to be there to the left-handers. You have to give loads of credit to Washington and Jadeja for the way played under a lot of pressure. The series has been back and forth, two sides throwing punches at each other. It’s been high-quality cricket between two very good teams. We threw absolutely everything at them today.
[On the contretemps at the end] Yeah, look, I think all the hard work was done by India; they’d both played incredibly well and it got to a point where only one result was possible. There was no chance I was gonna risk any of my big fast bowlers getting an injury with one more game to go. [Liam Dawson] has bowled so many overs this game and he was starting to cramp up in the legs. I wasn’t risk any of my frontline bowlers for that last half an hour.
[On possible changes at The Oval] Even before this Test we were having conversations about how much effort and energy the bowlers had used. We’ll have to use the next few days wisely. We’re very lucky that we’ve got a battery of fast bowlers who we can call on at any point. We’ll assess everyone in a couple of days.
England have drawn only two of their 40 Tests under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. The first, against Australia on this ground two years ago, was because of almost two days of rain; this is a new experience for the team, which may partly explain why there were so grouchy towards the end.
Bazball Test record P40 W25 D2 L13
The series looked done and dusted yesterday lunchtime, and the body language of both teams confirms how they feel about this result. Now England have to go again at The Oval, probably with a new seam attack, knowing the series will probably end either in triumph at 3-1 or anticlimax at 2-2. We don’t have long to wait: the first ball will be bowled on Thursday at 11am.
Ravindra Jadedja is beaming as he accepts the congratulations of his teammates. The England players, who were briefly furious at the beginning of the final hour, applaud the two batters off the field.
We thought a left-arm spinner might win the game for England. Instead two left-arm spinners saved it for India with the bat.
There it is! Washington drives Brook for four, then clips a couple of runs to reach his maiden Test century. He celebrates and then the players shake hands on a draw.
Just three runs for Washington in Root’s over, so on we go. The post-match interviews could be interesting. I’m not sure England have much to complain about, in truth, but this contretemps makes Thursday’s final Test even more mouthwatering.
Jadeja reaches his fifth Test century in the grand manner, carting Harry Brook’s offspin down the ground for six. He was dropped first ball, a key moment, but has otherwise played beautifully.
Rightly or wrongly, a number of the England players look furious. Brook is smeared for four and two by Jadeja, which means Washington will be on strike for the next over.
For all England’s irritation, this is a big moment in the life of Washington Sundar. He’s never made a Test hundred, with a highest score of 96 not out, but that is surely about to change. Washington moves from 80 to 92 with three successive boundaries off Root, two elegant extra-cover drives and a thumping pull when Root tries his occasional bouncer.
In the Indian dressing-room, Shubman Gill is laughing his head off about something or other. The assumption is that India are batting on because of personal milestones. That’s the main reason, certainly, but Gill must love how much this annoyed England.
Harry Brook comes on to bowl some offspin (sic). Jadeja almost holes out to mid-on, bizarrely, before helping himself to a boundary to fine leg. He needs five for his fifth Test century.
Ben Stokes is quietly seething.
I am not sure I have ever seen this. Ben Stokes offered the handshake at drinks, but the Indians want hundreds. Harry Brook fancies a bowl.
A bit of needle at the end of the game. At the beginning of the ifnal hour, Ben Stokes offers to shake hands and call it a draw. The Indian batsmen decline, though it’s not clear whether that’s their decision or Shubman Gill’s. Very interesting. Stokes looks quietly furious.
Washington hits a Root full toss for four, then hammers a drive that bounces up to hit Duckett’s left forearm. He moves away from silly point but is okay to stay on the field. England have enough fitness concerns as it is.
Jadeja inside-edges Dawson onto his back leg and not far wide of leg stump. Dawson hasn’t bowled as well as England hoped but nor has he had much luck.
A wider ball grubs past Smith for four byes to take India’s lead to 71. There are 16 overs remaining so the teams can shake hands very soon, if they want to.
Liam Dawson has bowled 359 balls since his last wicket, a workload that will weigh heavier on his mind than his body. The complexion of the series has changed so much in the last 28 hours. Both teams go to London with doubts – about either fitness or ability – over all four of their seamers in this game.
A few lusty blows with the field up could force England into offering handshakes quite soon. I thought we’d go very deep into the last session but could see India being out of sight in a few minutes’ time.
While Washington doesn’t seem fussed about pushing for a first Test century, Jadeja is in a hurry to score his fifth. He pumps Root back over his head for four, then moves to 89 with an expansive drive over mid-off.
One of the most impressive things about this England rearguard is the calm clarity of all four batsmen. Their decision-making, sometimes under extreme pressure, has been nigh-on flawless.
Dawson replaces Archer and is driven for two by Washington. This is the first time Washington has batted in the top five in a Test match; it won’t be the last. He’s a quite superb cricketer, a triumph of substance over style.
Jadeja crashes Root in the air and wide of Archer at mid-on for four. Archer didn’t pick the ball up but it made no difference.
England have now taken two wickets in the last 131 overs.
England’s players won’t give up. But we can: as Geoffrey Boycott predicted in his Telegraph briefing last night, the pitch has won.
Dawson is sent to graze with figures of 44-11-91-0. Root replaces him and skids one past off stump as Jadeja offers no stroke. England were excited but Jadeja knows what’s he doing.
It’s a cruel twist that, two days after he moved up to No2 on the list of highest Test runscorers, Root’s failure to catch Jadeja may have cost England victory.
Archer finds a soupçon of life in the pitch to hit Jadeja high on the bat handle, possibly the glove. England will regret the dropped catches and some inaccurate spells with the ball, but their effort really can’t be faulted.
India lead by 46 with 24 overs remaining. Their supporters are much the happier.
Jadeja pumps Dawson over mid-on for four, a shot played with a touch of contempt. India lead by 45. This is some rescue act for a team who looked completely broken when they were 0 for 2 yesterday morning.
It’ll be Archer to bowl, which suggests Stokes’ shoulder has deteriorated. One last spell for Archer, in the game and probably the series – both teams will need to refresh their bowling attacks for the final Test at the Oval on Thursday. He finds a decent line straight away but this pitch has died completely; it’s a matter of when rather than if the teams shake hands.
WinViz now has the draw at 89 per cent, with England an 11 per cent outsider. If Ben Stokes or Jofra Archer have one last spell in them, now’s the time.
Time is running out for England; realistically they need six wickets in the next 17 overs. Let’s call it the next 100 balls.
If India pull this off, it’ll be the longest successful rearguard in a Test in England since 2008, when South Africa survived 167 overs in the third innings at Lord’s.
Big shout for LBW! Jadeja shapes to cut Dawson, only for the ball to turn dramatically out of the rough and hit him on the back leg. England, who have no reviews left, plead desperately with Ahsan Raza to give Jadeja out LBW. Raza shakes his head, rightly so – it hit Jadeja outside the line.
Both umpires have had marvellous matches.
Woakes is men on the drive and is trying to bowl cutters into the rough. Washington takes it on anyway, leathering four through the covers. If this continues, Washington’s focus will turn from saving the match to scoring his first Test century.
Zak Crawley is warned by the umpires for throwing the ball onto the bare practice pitches; I think that’s England’s second warning of the innings. A third would mean a five-run penalty.
Dawson is toiling away but his labours are starting to resemble those of Clive Eksteen, South Africa’s left-arm spinner at Johannesburg in 1995 when Mike Atherton batted almost two days to save the game. Eksteen finished with figures of 52-20-76-0 and played only one more Test. And that was five years later.
India lead by 28. It’s soon or never for England.
All four of Lancashire’s County Championship games at Old Trafford have been drawn, so perhaps we should have seen this coming. Despite trying everything, England have taken only two wickets in the 120 overs.
The pitch isn’t the only factor. The calm, skilful manner in which KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja have defused England’s threat is pretty remarkable.
Dawson changes ends and also the angle of attack, bowling around the wicket to the left-handers with a slip, leg slip and short leg. There’s nobody deep on the leg side so Jadeja feels secure enough to wallop a boundary high over square leg.
Two balls later he dances down to scorch a second boundary down the ground. Superb batting. Dawson goes back over the wicket for the last delivery.
Woakes starts around the wicket with the keeper up to the stumps. The ball continues to do very little for the seamers, if that, and India are able to tick off another over without alarm.
Ben Stokes and Liam Dawson walked off chatting at tea, with the skipper appearing to tell him to vary his angle on the crease. Now they have walked out together chatting again. Woakes will start, with the keeper up, and England’s window to win is closing.
Time to look up the word draw. England have not had a genuine draw, unaffected by weather, in the Bazball years but this one is heading that way unless something changes after tea. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, the two left-handed spin bowling allrounders, have put on 100 and the fifth wicketless session of the match has left England running out of time as well as ideas. The stump mic picked up Ben Stokes urging Liam Dawson to change his angle on the crease as the teams walked off for tea and the spinner needs to deliver something fresh.
Stokes cannot be expected to pull his team out of trouble again. Brydon Carse bowled a tight spell, but has not taken a wicket with the old ball all series because he just does not do enough with it. Jofra Archer and Dawson were wayward in the first spell of the session and Stokes came on at the Brian Statham End when he had done most of his damage and work from the other end. England have dropped four catches in this game, three of them in the second innings and it may well cost them a series win here. Sloppy.
Well, it’s getting serious isn’t it, and a draw is now the likeliest result. Even if England break this fifth wicket partnership what have they got left in the tank to take the other five wickets? All the pace bowlers are out on their feet and no chance of a third new ball…
Jadeja clips the last ball of the session for a single to bring up the hundred partnership. It’s been a wonderful session for India, who are closing in on a famous draw.
Ben Stokes and Liam Dawson stay out in the middle for a while, looking down the pitch and discussing the various angles from which he might bowl. Dawson’s figures are a source of frustration for all concerned: 39-11-70-0.
The state of play is that India lead by 11 and there are 35 overs remaining, effectively 33 because you lose two for the change of innings. The thought of India’s batting line-up – three tailenders and an injured Rishabh Pant – will keep England going, but they have to strike early after tea.
Jadeja sets off for a daft single and is sent back by Washington. Archer runs in from mid-off to field the ball and slips over. There are some seriously tired cricketers out there.
Dawson’s last ball keeps really low, though Washington was well outside the line. Dawson got through the over so quickly that Root will have time for another before tea.
No wicket, just a majestic drive over extra cover for four from Washington. He’s such a smart, adaptable player and should become a key pillar of this emerging Indian side.
Jadeja, on the move, gets in a bit of a tangle against Dawson. He was outside the line, negating any LBW appeal, and I think there was an inside edge anyway.
Two more overs before tea. England desperately need a wicket in that time.
Stokes rolls the dice again, brings Root back on to replace him. A maiden to Washington ends with a crowd catch to Stokes at extra cover. India’s batsmen are ten minutes away form a third wicketless session in the last four.
A flurry of runs takes both men past fifty, and puts India in the lead. If England are to win this, they’re going to have quite a substantial chase in very little time. Feels like we are heading for the first organic draw of the Bazball era.
Another chance for Liam Dawson to make a difference. Even now, with the victory slipping away, England know one wicket would change the mood dramatically. A quiet over, one from it. Forty overs remaining.
Washington races to a pugnacioust half-century by hitting Stokes for 10 in two balls! A ferocious pull over square leg for six was followed by a dainty paddle-pull for four more.
Jadeja runs with the mood, cutting four to bring up his own half-century – and take India into the lead. A famous draw looks increasingly likely.
Jadeja slashes Carse wide of the solitary slip for four. He was dropped first ball, a tough chance to Joe Root at first slip; two and a half hours later he is approaching his fifty half-century in the last six innings.
That might be it for Carse, who has thrown everything into a spell of 7-1-15-0.
Stokes puts Jadeja on his backside with a superb bouncer. Jadeja played it well, snapping his head out of the way, and bounced to his feet with a smile on his face. He and Stokes are incorrigible competitors who live for moments like this.
Jadeja decides to take on the short ball after that, pulling two and then a single.
On the surface this has been a dull day’s play, with 47 overs producing 120 runs and two wickets. In reality it has been utterly compelling.
A maiden from Carse to Jadeja. These are the bald statistics on an increasingly exasperating day for England.
Ben Stokes drags himself to the well for the gazillionth time. He starts with some short stuff to Jadeja, overdoes it and is no-balled for a third bouncer in the over. That prompts him to move over the wicket and bowl fuller, and then back around again.
Nothing doing. Never mind a wicket, England could with a missed chance just to get the crowd going. Right now India have the game under control.
An excellent bumper from Carse, right under the armpit, is fended off awkwardly by Washington. It goes in the air but wide of Pope in a deep short leg position.
Ricky Ponting, commenting on Sky, thinks England could go even harder at Washington with short stuff from both ends. Carse finishes the over with a fuller, wider delivery that stays down and beats Washington. Really good spell, this, from Carse.
Not a good day for Dawson so far. This was his chance to bowl England to victory. But he has been taken out of the attack in favour of part-timer Joe Root. He has not bowled badly, just lacked any penetration and variation. I’m afraid he had a job to do to convince this England management he was worth his place. Up until now, it has been a good day for Shoaib Bashir. The dropped catch off Gill yesterday will not help Dawson’s cause.
A full toss from Root is put away for four by Jadeja. Root may well be replaced by Stokes at this end – that one snorter to Washington aside, he hasn’t threatened a wicket.
Saying which, the last ball of the over turns viciously to beat Jadeja’s defensive push. Jeez that was close.
Carse hits Washington on the arm with an unpleasant short ball from round the wicket. This is an increasingly dangerous spell from Carse, who bangs another bumper past Washington’s face later in the over. England’s effort can’t be faulted.
Ben Stokes is starting to get loose in the field.
Ooohs and aaahs from England when Jadeja pads up to a ball from Root that misses off stump. Jadeja knew what he was doing, I think.
That’s drinks. The break comes at a decent time for England, who are starting to lose their way. If Ben Stokes can bowl, he needs to do very soon. The other England bowlers have taken only one wicket between them in the last 95 overs.
Jadeja, pushing defensively with hard hands, inside edges Carse between his legs and wide of the stumps. Carse might be finding something here: he has a big LBW shout turned down next up, although it turned out to be a no-ball.
The appeal itself was close and would have been umpire’s call.
Now then! Root beats Washington with an unplayable ball that curves into towards off stump before exploding off the pitch. Easier said than done, but if England can produce deliveries like that every over they’ll break this game open sooner rather than later.
Gunbarrel straight against from Carse, who concedes a couple from his second over. England are struggling here.
At what point, then, does Stokes start to think about returning to his own bowling? Was it one spell and done? England have leaked too many runs since lunch, and these two Indians have been excellent.
Another change of plan: Archer off, Joe Root on. A misfield from Stokes in the covers gives Jadeja a bonus run. The second new ball is only 20 overs old but England look a bit flat; their newfound dependence on Stokes the bowler is a bit of a concern.
Brydon Carse, yet to bowl today, replaces Dawson. He has a poor record against left-handers in this series, with an average north of 200, but this is no time for match-ups; England just need fresh bowlers. Okay, freshish.
Carse makes an accurate start from round the wicket. But once again there are no signs of the menace of Stokes’ old-ball spell.
Another quiet over from Archer. We’re approaching the stage where Ben Stokes will need to call on himself, injured shoulder permitting. He made more happen with the old ball than the rest of the attack have with a new one.
Dawson is getting closer. A defensive stroke from Jadeja goes onto the boot before bouncing just over middle stump.
Jadeja responds aggressively by taking seven from the next two deliveries: a no-nonsense four down the ground and a cut for three when Dawson drags down.
India trail by 51 runs; there are 56 overs remaining, weather permitting.
Welcome again to Old Trafford and the Battle of Wounded Knee, and Wounded Shoulder (in the case of Ben Stokes) and Wounded Hand and Fingers, and Aching Backs. And the next Test starts on Thursday!
You wonder if Brydon Carse is another one wounded. Why didn’t he start the bowling after lunch from the Sir James Anderson End?
The weather forecast for Manchester is improving. There’s still a chance of rain – this is Manchester – but it looks far better than it did this morning.
An uneventful over from Archer, who hasn’t been at his best since lunch. His line has been erratic and he’s still grouchy about the field. You’d imagine he’ll have one more over in this spell.
Dawson gets the new ball to spit unpleasantly to Jadeja, who inside-edges the ball onto his thigh and down onto the ground. That could easily have gone to hand.
A misfield from Carse at midwicket allows Jadeja a second run, then he flicks a single to mid-on. Runs are increasingly important: India trail by 61 after Washington edges wide of slip for a couple. That was close.
Jadeja repeats Washington’s shot in Archer’s previous over, timing a majestic boundary through mid-on. Archer complains about the lack of a mid-on to Stokes, who turns him down at first but then makes the change towards the end of the over. Archer, in the words of Nasser Hussain on Sky, “is ticking”.
Washington thrusts his front pad at a ball from Dawson that bounces through everyone for four byes. Dawson, in his 34th over of the innings, is still searching for his first wicket; one thing that will keep him going is the recognition that this is the kind of pitch on which one wicket could bring a few.
Jadeja rides the bounce to cut Archer confidently for three, the start of a profitable double-figure over for India. Washington works two off the pads and times a delightful boundary through mid-on. India trail by 77.
Dawson resumes from the other end, with close fielders surrounding India’s two left-handers. In theory he should get more bounce with the new ball; in that over, however, the most dangerous delivery was once that kept low. Washington defended it well.
Archer starts with a maiden to Washington. Not his best, in truth: most of the deliveries were wide of off stump and left alone.
So far so good with the Manchester weather.
What a moment five minutes before lunch: Jofra Archer nipping out Shubman Gill, who paid for his only lapse in concentration across almost three sessions of batting. It was great theatre as Stokes and Gill went head to head for the first hour – the England captain dragging his battered body through eight overs in which his pace never dropped and he threatened a wicket with every ball. His selfless pummelling of his shoulder, hamstrings and every other fibre of his body, meant the other seamers could rest before the second new ball.
Brydon Carse has not had a bowl yet and he could play a big role after lunch bowling from the Sir James Anderson End where there is variable bounce. Two wickets in the session and for India you feel that one of KL Rahul or Gill had to survive for them to realistically hold on. England deserve to win this match, which was not necessarily the case at Headingley and Lord’s. Will it take one more Stokes spell?
Two left-handers at the crease now, so Dawson replaces Woakes for the final over before lunch. “This is a matter of time at this end” drawls Ben Duckett from leg slip. He’s one of five men around the bat, the other being slip, silly point, deepish short leg and short midwicket.
Washington turns strike over to Jadeja, who plays out the last two deliveries to complete a compelling session: 26 overs, 49 runs and two precious wickets for England. Shubman Gill and Ben Stokes, both struggling physically never mind mentally, went above and beyond for their teams.
India trail by 88 runs. England are strong favourites but, with rain forecast this afternoon, India can still save this game. One thing’s for sure: whichever captain gets the desired result will have earned it.
A very tired shot from Gill, but what do you expect from a man who has had five balls off the field in almost 260 overs? Epic innings, has given his team a chance.
Jadeja is dropped first ball! He flashed at a short ball from Archer that flew above the head of Root at first slip. Root leapt to parry the ball, then tried to clasp it as he fell but couldn’t hang on. A really tough chance.
Gill c Smith b Archer 103 Huge wicket on the stroke of lunch. Gill pushes wearily, almost absent-mindedly, at a back-of-a-length delivery and gets a thin edge through to Smith. He walks off to a standing ovation after a glorious captain’s innings of 103 from 238 balls. FOW: 222/4
Washington has given Gill excellent support, batting 54 balls for his 17. He’s a player of deceptive substance who averages 39 and 28 in Tests, numbers that even more impressive given he’s yet to have a settled role.
Archer has four slips and a gully for Washington, who flirts defensively and is beaten. When Archer goes toos traight, Washington puts him away through midwicket for three.
Runs are still important. India trail by 95, so there’s a fair chance England will have to deal with a time/runs equation if they are to win this match.
Woakes moves back over the wicket to angle a wobble-seam delivery past Washington, who responds by forcing three runs past mid-on.
That third run almost costs India when Gill edges Woakes on the bounce to Smith. “Eff!” shouts Woakes as he walks back to his mark. A superb over ends with a huge nipbacker that just misses off stump as Gill offers no stroke.
This has been a fabulous morning session.
This second new ball isn’t doing as much as England would have hoped. I thought Archer might bowl from the same end as Stokes, given his accuracy and height. No sign of uneven bounce at this end, though he does shape one back to draw a thick inside-edge from Gill. Nicely bowled without really threatening a wicket.
Huge respect for Shubman Gill. He’s having an incredible series, and has fought back from three quiet innings when it looked like England had worked out a plan for him. He came in at 0-2 and has worn a fair few on the body. Magnificent knock.
Gill, on 97, walks down to Woakes and is beaten by a jaffa that zips off the seam. He turns two to leg, then pushes a single on the off side and yelps with delight. Gill’s fourth century of the series is both the lowest* and the best, an impossibly defiant 100 not out having come to the crease at 0 for 2. Wonderful innings.
* For now at least: 147, 269, 161 and 100 not out
Jofra Archer starts with a gentle short ball that Gill pulls emphatically through square leg for India’s first boundary in 13 overs. A thick edged single takes him to 97.
Archer revs up through the over and ends it with a seaming lifter that beats Washington. Half an hour to go until lunch.
England take the second new ball immediately. The next 20 overs, either side of lunch and a possible rain interruption, should decide this game.
Washington edges a good ball from Woakes on the bounce to second slip. The rest of the over, another maiden, is uneventful.
That is one of the bravest spells, for quality and for defying physical pain: 8-2-12-1. And Ben Stokes almost took down India’s captain with him, a couple of times.
He is the most amazing competitor.
Gill again protects Washington from Dawson by playing out a maiden, largely via the medium of immaculate forward-defensive strokes. Whatever the result, this has been the most brilliant captain’s innings from Gill.
Stokes forces a good delivery past Washington’s outside edge. The pain in his shoulder is getting worse and you’d imagine this over, his eighth on the spin, will be his last. The second new ball is available at the end of Dawson’s next over.
Washington adds a couple to the total with a wristy clip through midwicket. India trail by 113. Stokes looks spent after an immense spell of 8-2-12-1.
Gill turns Dawson into the leg side but decides not to take the single and expose the left-handed Washington. Fascinating stuff. It was Gill’s decision, though England’s fielders start reminding Washington that Jofra Archer will soon be on at the other end.
Gill cuts a single to give Washington one ball at the end of the over. “Here we go,” chirps Harry Brook. “Turn and bounce!”
Washington responds by blasting Dawson high over mid-on. The ball plugged, so he picked up only a single, but it was a shot played with feeling.
Another horrible lifter from Stokes hits Gill on the glove, loops up and lands safely on the off side. After facing 15 deliveries in a row from Stokes, Gill takes a quick single and watches the rest of the over from non-striker’s end.
It’s rare to see a captain-v-captain contest of this intensity, mainly because the majority of captains are batsmen.
Dawson drops his pace and gets more bite from the pitch, with Washington troubled by successive deliveries at around 50mph. He inside-edged the second onto the pad but it dropped well short of the close fielders. Another maiden to end a good first hour for England. Drinks.
We don’t have the data but it feels like Stokes has made Gill and Rahul play at almost every delivery this morning. Gill continues to defend immaculately and that’s a second maiden in a row for Stokes.
Dawson is right in the game against the left-handers. Washington whips him wristily for two at the start of the over but looks less secure as Dawson gets the ball to spit from the footmarks. England would love another wicket before the second new ball.
Gill winces after defending the next delivery. The two captains are going to some dark places right now, physically and mentally. As the over continues, Gill does extremely well to repel another grubber from Stokes, who was a split-second away from another celebrappeal.
This concussion test for Gill is giving Stokes a breather. He’s into his fifth over, but Dawson shuffles through his quickly so he doesn’t get much rest. It’s an outrageous spell, really. England’s best bowler by a country mile.
Good lord, that’s a vicious delivery from Stokes. It burst from a length, bent Gill’s right thumb back and deflected into his grille. Gill is more worried about his hand than his face, wringing it furiously as he walks towards square leg. The physio comes on to check both Gill’s hand and for any potential concussion.
Stokes is so demonstrative it makes him almost impossible to read because he can be writhing around in agony and then jump up and bowl ten overs in a row. His shoulder is clearly causing him trouble but I wouldn’t be surprised if there is really nothing in it. Quick discussion with Scyld about the toughest England cricketers he has covered. Brian Close and Peter Willey are the only two to compare with Stokes. The other day, as I walked to Old Trafford, I passed Bryan Robson, the original Captain Marvel. Stokes is the modern-day equivalent.
The rough created by the right-arm quicks should increase Dawson’s threat against the left-handed batters in India’s middle order. He has a slip, leg slip and short leg for Washington, who faces the last five balls of the over without alarm.
With the exception of that giddy month in 2019, I’m not sure Ben Stokes’ aura has ever been greater than it is right now. KL Rahul had no chance with the delivery and didn’t discuss a review.
Washington Sundar, who batted No8 in the first innings, has come in at No5. India’s team planning has been all over the place in this series.
Rahul LBW b Stokes 90 He’s done it. Of course he’s done it. Ben Stokes launches into the first celebrappeal of his life, not turning his head round even once, after trapping KL Rahul plumb LBW. It was a fullish nipbacker that kept low to beat Rahul’s defensive stroke and end an admirably defiant partnership, India’s longest in England in the 21st century. Who writes Stokes’ scripts, vol. 742. FOW: 188/3
Rahul tries to sweep Dawson down the leg side and misses by a mile. England are convinced the ball brushed the ball or the glove, so much so that Ben Stokes risks the last review. It’s the wrong decision. The ball flicked the pad but was nowhere near bat or glove.
That could be a vital moment; it means England are out of reviews.
Stokes continues even though he’s clearly struggling. The ideal scenario for England is that he breaks this partnership before delegating the rest to the other bowlers.
An otherwise good over is tarnished by a poor last delivery that Gill flicks for four. Gill is 11 away from his fourth century of the series; only two captains have done that before, Donald Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar.
That’s two drops of Gill, on 46 and 81. Neither of them totally straightforward, but both of them takeable. Especially when the batsman has 700 runs in the series…
Nobody – or nobody in this England team – can hit the pitch so hard on such a full length as Ben Stokes, now that he is running in straighter, getting closer to the stumps and bracing his front leg.
A quiet over from Dawson. The camera was on Ben Stokes between every delivery; he’s still rubbing his right shoulder.
Stokes has, by some distance, been England’s best seamer with the old ball in this series. That’s down to his skill, obviously, but also his force of personality. The mood is different this morning simply by virtue of him bowling – and now he’s had Gill dropped! Gill pinged a lofted drive that was put down by the leaping Ollie Pope at extra cover. A really tough chance. But Pope has taken more difficult ones in his career.
Stokes now has a problem with his right shoulder, which he started rubbing at the end of the over. Stuart Broad, on Sky, thinks it’s a muscular injury that could get worse through bowling and especially throwing.
Rahul jabs down on a grubber from Dawson, then thick edges a wider delivery along the ground to gully. England have started well and are making the batsmen play at almost everything.
Classic Stokes to bowl first up, isn’t it? My sense yesterday was always that he was just looking after his body after a tough four days, and waiting for a good night’s sleep before having a bowl. I would think he’s got the best chance of angling one back into Shubman Gill’s front pad, which has been his only weakness this series.
Gill turns Stokes off the pads for two to become the third Indian batsman to score 700 runs in a Test series. Sunil Gavaskar did it twice, both times in the Caribbean, and Yashasvi Jaiswal belted 712 runs when England toured India last year.
This is a terrific start from Stokes, who targets the stumps and is almost rewarded when a nipbacker keeps very low to hit Gill on the pad. England go up for LBW and are turned down by Rod Tucker. It would have missed leg stump, just.
The last ball of the over swerves away to beat Gill’s instinctive poke. Stokes is making things happen, already.
As Ben Stokes opens the bowling from the James Anderson end, and there are 16 overs till the second new ball, he will presumably bowl till then… and then take the new ball and …
Liam Dawson opens the bowling to Shubman Gill, with a slip and silly point waiting to have their reflexes tested. It’s an overcast morning but Ben Stokes will want the seamers to be as fresh as possible with the second new ball.
No turn of note for Dawson during an accurate first over; one run from it. And now, ladies and gentlemen, Ben Stokes is coming on to bowl.
This is such an important day for two teams at different stages of their journey – England are in year four of Bazball, India are starting afresh under Shubman Gill. Either England will seal the series with a match to spare, or India will live to fight another Test.
Even after just two innings of this match, when an injury cloud gathered over his involvement in its remainder, Ben Stokes had done what he never had in 115 previous Tests by scoring a century and taking a five-wicket haul.
His celebrations told a tale. The first, for his first five-wicket haul in eight years, was a sheepish raise of the ball. He has been the best bowler on either side in this series, but it had been a very long time between drinks.
Two days later, Stokes was celebrating his first Test hundred for more than two years. In many ways, that had been a more worrying barren run, his longest between tons in Tests. The emotion was exhausted relief. He slowly looked to the sky and shaped his fingers to honour his late father, Ged, as he took time to soak up the adoration of the Old Trafford crowd.
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In the end Ben Stokes only bowled about four or five balls without a run up. Not sure what we can read into that. It was the same on other days of this Test. He doesn’t really bowl properly between matches either. The word from the camp is that if yesterday had been day five and England chasing victory, he would have bowled. They will be hoping they do not need him today. At the moment the weather is fine. Strong breeze blowing across Old Trafford but no rain in the air.
Kevin Pietersen did not often bowl, although he first came to English attention when he represented KwaZulu-Natal as an off-spinner on England’s 1999-2000 tour of South Africa, but he has delivered some bouncers at Joe Root.
Root in the course of his 150 at Old Trafford rose to second place in the all-time list of Test run-scorers. But this was not enough to impress Pietersen. Far from it. He declared, like a real old-timer, that batting was twice as hard back in his day.
“Don’t shout at me but batting these days is way easier than 20/25 years ago!” Pietersen posted on X. “Probably twice as hard back then.”
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Just like Denis Compton’s right knee or David Beckham’s metatarsal, Ben Stokes’s hamstring will have a nation holding its breath this winter.
Can he stay fit and play his full part as an all-rounder, firstly to finish off the fourth Test against India, and then carry England home in Australia? If the answer is no, then their hopes fade to black.
After dominating with bat and ball for three days – becoming only the fourth England player to score a century and take a five-for in the same match – Stokes spent two session directing the traffic as India rallied.
Without his bowling, England’s attack was toothless once Shubman Gill and KL Rahul started the fightback and the shine went off the new ball. England ran out of ideas and Stokes, the series’ leading wicket-taker, did not bowl a ball despite being in his best form as a bowler for eight years.
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Hello and welcome to Telegraph Sport’s live, over-by-over coverage of the final day of the Old Trafford Test between England and India. It’s the fourth Test in a row that has gone to the final day, and we shouldn’t be surprised if it goes to the final hour. Rain is forecast either side of lunch so England could find themselves in a race against time to seal a series victory.
India will resume on 174 for 2, a deficit of 137, after a wonderfully defiant partnership between KL Rahul and Shubman Gill. They came together at 0 for 2, with India in disarray and Chris Woakes on a hat-trick. But they played will skill, courage and an even temper to bat throughout the last two sessions. They were rewarded for surviving a fiendish new-ball spell from Woakes and Jofra Archer with increasingly benign conditions. Rahul and Gill have been together for 62.2 overs, India’s longest partnership in a Test in England since 2002.
The second new ball, due in 17 overs, can’t come soon enough for England. They sorely missed Ben Stokes’ ability to abracadabra a wicket with the old ball; he did not bowl due to an unspecified injury, possibly to a hamstring, and will be assessed this morning.
“We’re hoping so [that Stokes is fit to bowl]. He’s a bit stiff and sore,” England’s assistant coach Marcus Trescothick said “He’s had quite a big workload in the last few weeks… we’re hoping that with another night’s rest and a bit more physio work overnight that he’ll be back and doing a bit.”
England will have the option of resting Stokes for the final Test at the Oval – but only if they get the job done today. If not, India will return to London with the chance of a 2-2 series draw. For England, given the position they were in at lunchtime yesterday, that scenario is unthinkable.
