669/10 (157.1)
CRR : 4.26
RRR : 0.00
Match Drawn
Player of the Match
Player
5/72 & 1/33141(198)
Most Runs for India at Number 6 or lower in a Test Series:
474 - VVS Laxman vs West Indies, West Indies, 2002
454 - Ravindra Jadeja vs England, England, 2025, This Series*
374 - Ravi Shastri vs England, India, 1984
350 - Rishabh Pant vs Australia, Australia, 2018
349 - MS Dhoni vs England, England, 2014
474 - VVS Laxman vs West Indies, West Indies, 2002
454 - Ravindra Jadeja vs England, England, 2025, This Series*
374 - Ravi Shastri vs England, India, 1984
350 - Rishabh Pant vs Australia, Australia, 2018
349 - MS Dhoni vs England, England, 2014
Most Player of the Match Awards for England in Tests:
13 - Joe Root
12* - Ben Stokes
12 - Ian Botham
10 - Kevin Pietersen
10 - Stuart Broad
13 - Joe Root
12* - Ben Stokes
12 - Ian Botham
10 - Kevin Pietersen
10 - Stuart Broad
Time for the post-match presentation.....
Shubman Gill (India Captain): "Extremely pleased with our batting effort over the past couple of days. We were put under a lot of pressure, especially after losing those two early wickets — it's never easy. But the way we responded was very brave and commendable.
Yes, it's all about taking the wicket out of the equation. You know, on a Day 5 pitch, the ball is doing a bit — something is happening almost every ball, every delivery feels like an event. So the focus was just to play it ball by ball and take the game as deep as possible. That’s exactly what we spoke about.
Definitely, it was up to the boys, but we felt they batted brilliantly. Both of them were in their 90s, and we believed they deserved to get to their centuries.
Every match has gone down to the last day, the final session, and there’s been so much to learn. Each Test teaches you something different, and these four matches we’ve played have taught us a lot as a group. Hopefully, in the next match, we can draw the series.
It doesn’t matter how many runs I’ve scored in the past — every time I walk out wearing the whites and representing my country, there are always some nerves. And that, to me, is a sign of how much I care and how much I love this game. Every time I bat, I just want to give it my best, enjoy my time out there, and make the most of every moment with the bat.
Yeah, I think in the first innings, we did post a decent total, but quite a few of our batters got set without converting their starts. On wickets like these, it’s crucial that one or two batters go deep and play a big innings — that’s how you take the game away from the opposition. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen for us in the first innings. While several players got starts, we couldn’t convert them into big scores. But I’m very pleased with how we responded in the second innings.
(On Bumrah's recovery) We will have to wait and see.
(India have lost 14 tosses in a row in international cricket. Are you going to stick with heads, or try something different?) Honestly, that’s the thing I’ve been thinking about the most. (laughs) But we’ll see—whatever I feel on the day, I’ll go with that. As long as we’re winning the match, I don’t really care about the toss."
Yes, it's all about taking the wicket out of the equation. You know, on a Day 5 pitch, the ball is doing a bit — something is happening almost every ball, every delivery feels like an event. So the focus was just to play it ball by ball and take the game as deep as possible. That’s exactly what we spoke about.
Definitely, it was up to the boys, but we felt they batted brilliantly. Both of them were in their 90s, and we believed they deserved to get to their centuries.
Every match has gone down to the last day, the final session, and there’s been so much to learn. Each Test teaches you something different, and these four matches we’ve played have taught us a lot as a group. Hopefully, in the next match, we can draw the series.
It doesn’t matter how many runs I’ve scored in the past — every time I walk out wearing the whites and representing my country, there are always some nerves. And that, to me, is a sign of how much I care and how much I love this game. Every time I bat, I just want to give it my best, enjoy my time out there, and make the most of every moment with the bat.
Yeah, I think in the first innings, we did post a decent total, but quite a few of our batters got set without converting their starts. On wickets like these, it’s crucial that one or two batters go deep and play a big innings — that’s how you take the game away from the opposition. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen for us in the first innings. While several players got starts, we couldn’t convert them into big scores. But I’m very pleased with how we responded in the second innings.
(On Bumrah's recovery) We will have to wait and see.
(India have lost 14 tosses in a row in international cricket. Are you going to stick with heads, or try something different?) Honestly, that’s the thing I’ve been thinking about the most. (laughs) But we’ll see—whatever I feel on the day, I’ll go with that. As long as we’re winning the match, I don’t really care about the toss."
Player of the Match: Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes (POTM & England Captain): "Umm, I think when you have a good game as an all-rounder, you assess that with how the result goes in the game. I would've loved it if we had got the result we wanted.
It's been a big 5-6 weeks for me. Me along with the boys will give everything in the last Test. I told the boys that let's run through a brick wall. I will always try to do the same - lead by an example. It is a tough work but I will keep doing it.
(On his shoulder injury) Well, it's just about workload to be honest. I went through fair few amount of overs. Everything obviously starts creeping up on you. I'll keep trying and keep going. I always keep telling the bowlers that main is only an emotion.
I think as the game progressed, the wicket became easier and easier to bat on. As the game got deeper and deeper, the surface was very hard for the right-handed batters because of the variable bounce as we saw today morning as well. We just didn't see any inconsistency of bounce to the left handers. Credit to both Washington and Jadeja with the way they batted and stitched up a partnership in the end. I give them a lot of credit.
I think the opening partnership for us was really crucial. Crawley and Duckett gave us a fabulous start. They laid a foundation in the game. They batted at a really good rate and we wanted to bat only once and then bowl India out quickly. We started great yesterday with two wickets in the first over but once you settle in, it's only you who can throw away your wicket if you make a mistake as a batter.
Well, this has been an incredible Test series so far. We have thrown some punches and India have thrown some punches back at us as well. Two really good teams and credit to India with the way they performed today under pressure.
It's one of those where you feel in moments. KL's wicket today morning brought us back into the game. But you always knew that the quality India have, if they get themselves in, it's very difficult to get them out. You've got to move away from this and focus on the next game. We absolutely threw everything at them but they did everything they could to save this Test match. Credit to India.
(On the handshake incident) I think all the hard work was done over there by India. Both the batters batted incredibly well. We got to a point where there was obviously going to be only one result and there was no chance that I would risk any of my big fast bowlers to bowl in that situation with one more game to go. Dawson bowled so many overs in this Test match. He started getting tired. I wasn't risking any of my frontline bowlers in that last half-an-hour.
I think even before this Test match, we had a discussion on how much energy the bowlers have put in this series. Another quick turnaround before the Oval. We have to use this moment wisely and be ready for the 5th Test. We are lucky enough as we have a battery of fast bowlers who we can call in at any point of time. So, it will be assessed in the next couple of days and then we will see how it goes."
It's been a big 5-6 weeks for me. Me along with the boys will give everything in the last Test. I told the boys that let's run through a brick wall. I will always try to do the same - lead by an example. It is a tough work but I will keep doing it.
(On his shoulder injury) Well, it's just about workload to be honest. I went through fair few amount of overs. Everything obviously starts creeping up on you. I'll keep trying and keep going. I always keep telling the bowlers that main is only an emotion.
I think as the game progressed, the wicket became easier and easier to bat on. As the game got deeper and deeper, the surface was very hard for the right-handed batters because of the variable bounce as we saw today morning as well. We just didn't see any inconsistency of bounce to the left handers. Credit to both Washington and Jadeja with the way they batted and stitched up a partnership in the end. I give them a lot of credit.
I think the opening partnership for us was really crucial. Crawley and Duckett gave us a fabulous start. They laid a foundation in the game. They batted at a really good rate and we wanted to bat only once and then bowl India out quickly. We started great yesterday with two wickets in the first over but once you settle in, it's only you who can throw away your wicket if you make a mistake as a batter.
Well, this has been an incredible Test series so far. We have thrown some punches and India have thrown some punches back at us as well. Two really good teams and credit to India with the way they performed today under pressure.
It's one of those where you feel in moments. KL's wicket today morning brought us back into the game. But you always knew that the quality India have, if they get themselves in, it's very difficult to get them out. You've got to move away from this and focus on the next game. We absolutely threw everything at them but they did everything they could to save this Test match. Credit to India.
(On the handshake incident) I think all the hard work was done over there by India. Both the batters batted incredibly well. We got to a point where there was obviously going to be only one result and there was no chance that I would risk any of my big fast bowlers to bowl in that situation with one more game to go. Dawson bowled so many overs in this Test match. He started getting tired. I wasn't risking any of my frontline bowlers in that last half-an-hour.
I think even before this Test match, we had a discussion on how much energy the bowlers have put in this series. Another quick turnaround before the Oval. We have to use this moment wisely and be ready for the 5th Test. We are lucky enough as we have a battery of fast bowlers who we can call in at any point of time. So, it will be assessed in the next couple of days and then we will see how it goes."
Just like at Lord’s, we say it again — Long Live Test Cricket! The Old Trafford Test ends in a draw, but it feels like a moral victory for India. They’ve battled through five grinding sessions under immense pressure to keep this series alive. Massive credit to four standout performers — KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar — who showcased grit, determination, and class in tough conditions to pull off a memorable rescue act.
The series now stands at 2-1 in England’s favour, and all eyes turn to The Oval, where the fifth and final Test begins on Thursday. Can India level the series? We'll find out soon. For now, this was another compelling advert for the beauty of Test cricket.
That’s all from us for now. This is Pritam Dey signing off on behalf of my fellow commentators Akshay Bhide and Deepak Prakash, our scorer/analyst Bishal Mandal, and statistician Aman, who kept the numbers flowing. A special shoutout to AkshayaKrishna Polya for his work behind the scenes. Stay tuned for more cricketing action from around the world. BYE BYE👋
The series now stands at 2-1 in England’s favour, and all eyes turn to The Oval, where the fifth and final Test begins on Thursday. Can India level the series? We'll find out soon. For now, this was another compelling advert for the beauty of Test cricket.
That’s all from us for now. This is Pritam Dey signing off on behalf of my fellow commentators Akshay Bhide and Deepak Prakash, our scorer/analyst Bishal Mandal, and statistician Aman, who kept the numbers flowing. A special shoutout to AkshayaKrishna Polya for his work behind the scenes. Stay tuned for more cricketing action from around the world. BYE BYE👋