England lose morale battle as heroic India pull off Manchester heist
UPDATED: Jul 29, 2025 19:15 IST
India scripted a great escape in the 4th Test match at Manchester. Ben Stokes's England were left frustrated by the grit of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. Controversy struck on the final day of the Test match when Jadeja and Sundar refused to go off the field, despite the hassling of Ben Stokes and Co. England, led by Stokes, wanted the batters to call it curtains much before the scheduled closure of play after realising that they were not going to win the match.
A massive wave of criticism followed Stokes and his team for unsportsmanlike conduct and trying to dictate the opposition's approach with the bat. Safe to say, the self-proclaimed custodians of the game failed morally as well.
In the latest episode of the Sledging Room Podcast, Akshay Ramesh, Saurabh Kumar and Kingshuk Kusari discuss the draw in Manchester, which felt like a win. They also build up to the 5th and final Test match of the series, which might have major workload concerns for both teams.
Produced by Garvit Srivastava
Sound mixed by Rohan Bharti
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New Team India's Test tour of England: The things done right and the lessons that should be learnt
India's tour of England will be remembered as a success, but beneath the celebrations lies the awareness of a missed chance, a golden opportunity to win an away series in England for the first time since 2007. For this new-look Indian team, it's both a moment of pride and a prompt for introspection and growth. read more It was a memorable series for a new-look Team India, but they return with the feeling of what more it could have been. Images: Reuters/AP On Day five of the fourth Test match at Old Trafford, when Ben Stokes wanted to shake Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar's hands to declare the Test a draw officially, the two Indian batters refused, because they, very rightly, wanted to complete their individual centuries. That was a bold call. But then, Jadeja was seen throwing his hands up in the air and also heard on the stump mic saying to Stokes – 'I can't do anything.' And then, while pointing at the Indian dressing room, it looked like he said something that sounded along the lines of – 'the captain and coach will decide.' If that is indeed what he said, then that was not bold, assertive, or a mark of confidence. We know for a fact that Shubman Gill and the team management had left the decision to either walk off or bat on entirely to the two batters out in the middle. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD And that potential dichotomy that we witnessed, in the space of a few minutes, that strange mix, of being bold and also otherwise, sums up India's 5-Test tour of England this time. A tour on which they were really bold at times and almost had the series in the bag by the time the third Test finished, but also a tour on which they could have been somewhat bolder – with their execution of certain plans and their selection calls in particular. It was a tour after all on which they couldn't get their playing combination just right, one in which dropped catches played a big role, but definitely also one where certain playing XI slots were cemented and one in which India's never-say attitude on foreign shores – a priceless quality that has been associated with the team from around 2018 or so and thanks largely to their fast bowling prowess - once again came to the fore. At the end of it all, the series might have been drawn 2-2, but the way it finished, with India drawing the 'undrawable' Test at Old Trafford and then clinching their smallest ever margin of victory by runs in a Test match at the Oval (6 runs, beating the previous record of 13 runs vs Australia at the Wankhede in 2004), it sure felt like a series triumph. India could have and realistically should have won the series, but they also didn't lose it. 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His decision to politely decline captaincy of his new IPL team – the Delhi Capitals – might have added to that myth, but that's exactly what it is – a myth. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD KL Rahul made 532 runs in five Tests vs England. Image: Reuters Rahul is not an in-your-face kind of cricketer. He will not charge down the track in a Test match to deposit a fast bowler's delivery over the ropes only to prove a point, but what he will give you is solidity and maturity. And that's what you need at the top of the order. The way he tackled different match scenarios in the series this time, with the bat, spoke volumes about the analytical cricket brain that he possesses. Becoming the first Indian opener in 46 years to accumulate over 500 runs in an away Test series is a statistic that sums up his contribution and also the fact that India have their two new fixed Test openers. Rahul's opening partner, meanwhile, showed us that he has grown tougher mentally. Despite having a rather see-saw series, with the bat and dropping catches which had a big role to play in India losing the Leeds Test, Yashasvi Jaiswal knew the one thing he had to focus on the most was opening the innings for India. He began and ended the series with centuries (101 & 118 – was dropped thrice in his second innings at the Oval) and finished with an average of over 41. He also had scores of 87 and 58, but also two ducks and other scores of 4, 28, 13 and 2. Former India captain Rohit Sharma asked Jaiswal to – 'hang in there and bat long' and though he did manage to do that on a few occasions, the southpaw will be striving for more consistency, especially now that he has the perfect partner at the other end, in Rahul. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But don't let what was a topsy-turvy kind of series for the youngster take anything away from your appraisal of his gumption, something that has seen him already notch up 6 centuries and 12 fifties in 24 Tests. Yashasvi had already managed to cement his place as a confirmed Test opener well before this series began, but on this tour of England, he showed us once again the temperament that sets him apart and one that belies his very young age (23). Before this series began, I was convinced that it would be baptism by fire for new Test captain, Shubman Gill. And that's exactly what it was. The good news for him and for Indian cricket overall is that he has shown signs of settling into what is probably the most high-pressure job in international cricket. The best thing that Gill did in this series (something he has managed to do earlier as well, especially in the IPL with the Gujarat Titans) was to separate his two roles of skipper and batter. 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Instead, the management chose to play all-rounder Shardul Thakur in the Leeds Test, as the fourth seaming option, because he gave them a batting cushion. He contributed a total of 5 runs and 2 wickets. When the conditions are right, Shardul can produce innings that can shape the result of a match, absolutely, but in these conditions, wouldn't another out-and-out fast bowler, capable of generating more consistent speed and that too someone who can create different angles as compared to the other three, have been a more attacking option? Also, if the selectors are picking Abhimanyu Easwaran in a Test squad, he must be played and tried out. Otherwise, it's just plain unfair treatment to someone who has scored tons of runs in domestic cricket (over 7800 First Class runs with 27 centuries) and has consistently shown that he is worthy of a Test call-up. And then there's the Kuldeep Yadav mystery. 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