Incredible India! That may sound like some link from a Government Tourism promotional effort! But this phrase captures the moment of the Manchester Test match after India forced England to an improbable draw. Another match that spread over the stipulated five days, something that needed to be stressed for such has been the pattern of Test matches in recent times with contests ending earlier. Manchester too seemed heading for a match-finish in four days but the incredible happened, thanks to two lion hearted batters, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. Imagine facing an arrears of over 300 runs and then losing two wickets with not a run on the scoreboard, none at that moment would have fancied India saving the Test let alone aspiring for a draw in the least. Memories of a crumbling batting would have raced back to the minds of many a cricketer lover for there have been such disasters for India in the past.

Perhaps these different times. This has been an Indian team with a new thinking process and perhaps fresh perspective that is strong on self-belief. “Never lose heart” is the underlining factor in each batter’s approach and a sample of this came in the previous Test at Lords. India was given a victory target of a little over 190 runs and they started the final day at 58 for four with English bowling firing away. Again, it was a situation which hardly looked rosy for India to save embarrassment but it was Jadeja again who seemed ready for the impossible with his dour batting. With some able support coming from the other end, India had inched ahead but as it happened, with just 22 runs remaining for what would have been an incredible win, last man Mohammed Siraj’s game effort ended and a dream collapsed!

In hindsight, there were critics who felt the Lords Test was lost not because of the quick fall of wickets but to the kind of ‘indiscipline’ witnessed on the field! Yes, with 63 runs given away as extras in the two innings with 25 of them coming in byes in one innings alone, the picture was not at all inspiring overall. Still it was an effort with Jadeja proving himself that he could be a dependable all-rounder, and standing tall as he did in the midst of the ruins. That it was not a flash in the pan was what came out about Jadeja this time at Old Trafford. With Washington Sundar too showing his mettle it was a kind of a fantasy Indian cricket was not quite used to.

Interestingly, like veteran Ravi Shastri (now a prominent TV Commentator), who began his Test career as a prominent left arm spinner to later turn into an opening batter for India, here was Sundar now showing hopefully a similar trait. Sundar actually came into notice in domestic cricket as a left-band bat and did so for Tamil Nadu before his economical spin bowling caught attention and later prominence. The mark of an all-rounder was set in him and Sundar could not have chosen a better occasion to please his captain and coach with his gritty display and what is more, a maiden century to match his senior partner Jadeja who too had crossed the ton, his fifth in Tests.

Indeed, one cannot take away the importance of the displays of K.L. Rahul and skipper Shubman Gill earlier. They were the ones who virtually put the Indian batting back on rail after two wickets had fallen and not a single run on the scoreboard. It's never easy to soak in this kind of pressure and stress. That is where character played a big part and both Rahul and Gill showed that in abundance. What is more, Gill went on to score his fourth century of the series, to be in the select band that included the great Sunil Gavaskar (twice) and Virat Kohli. Undoubtedly Gill’s has been a dream start as captain but would be witness to another of India’s loss at Old Trafford , a venue which has historically never been lucky for India was the question. When Gill and Rahul, who missed his century by just ten runs, left, a crushing defeat seemed on the horizon for India. Jadeja and Sundar together frustrated what until then had looked like an easy job for the English bowlers.

It must be said the Old Trafford Test certainly proved a classic in many ways. There were runs aplenty, over 1450 in fact, five centuries and a clutch of good bowling shows and above all the kind of uncertainties that brought in the element of excitement. That India could convert an over 300 deficit to an over 100 lead in the end seemed all in the realms of a dream to say the least. One thing was achieved by this monumental effort, India saved interest in the series. True, a series-win hope is now over for India , only England can nurse that but the next Test, the final one, at the Oval can reveal whether India, trailing 1-2 now, can leave English shores on a level field! Yes, if the display at Manchester is anything to go by, this Indian team can go beyond a draw!