Indian skipper Shubman Gill continued with batting on day five when the game was almost dead and buried and heading in only one direction. India batted for almost five sessions to earn a well-deserved draw to end the fifth Test.
India needed to bat out of their skins to draw the second Test after England piled up 669 runs in their first innings in Manchester. Joe Root and Ben Stokes scored centuries and tired out the Indian bowlers.
In reply, India also dig deep with Shubman Gill and KL Rahul scoring match-defining runs. While Gill scored his ninth hundred and his fourth of the series, Rahul scored solid 90 runs. Both added 188 runs batting together.
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Jadeja-Sundar Stand Getting To Ben Stokes
After them, it was the Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar show in the final day of the fifth Test. Both scored centuries and took India to a total of 425 runs for four wickets. From 0/2, India ended up scoring 425 runs for four wickets and turning the result of the match in their favour. Though the match ended in a draw, it allowed India to keep the series alive.
Meanwhile, former England pacer Steve Harminson said that while he had no problems with Gill making England bowlers toil, he did not expect the way the match ended in the final session. The England players walked towards Jadeja and Sundar seeking a draw. However, both batters carried on and ecentually got to their hundreds and frustrated the England bowlers in the process.
"It was a great spectacle if they had finished 15 minutes earlier. It did not tarnish anything for what the guys did, but I thought it just left a little bit of bad taste. I had no problem with what Shubman Gill did, but I just think, the way that it ended, I did not think this Test match needed it to end that way," Harmison said on talkSPORT.
"Yes, you want to see them get a hundred and I don't begrudge them at all. I'm really pleased they stayed out for their hundreds. England threw everything at them, some tired bodies. But I think we again showed that our cupboard of spin bowlers is a good volume and a good number, but it is a bit threadbare," he added.
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Pitches Are England's Kryptonite - Harminson
The former England pacer also blamed how the Manchester pitch played out in the latter half of the Test match. England scored 669 runs with the bat and India scored 425 runs after losing two early wickets. Barring the indifferent bounce on the pitch, the track did not aid the bowlers for the large part of India’s second innings batting effort.
"The pitches again are England's Kryptonite. I'm not going to make any excuses. These are just not the surfaces that England need to play on in England. I mean, we should be having home advantage. It (Such pitches) might sell 15,000 tickets at 26 pounds a go on Day 5, but from our cricket team's point of view, I'll stick up for the boys on that front," Harmison said.
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