And so a Test that long threatened to be decided by the unstinting efforts of an all-rounder was. Though not one but two and not Ben Stokes, who discovered that not even he can bend every game to his will, but Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.
Centuries for the two India spinners in a partnership of 203 capped a terrific fightback and ensured the series remains alive when these teams reconvene at The Oval on Thursday. India cannot win it but, as their doggedness at Old Trafford showed, they have a willingness to scrap to avoid defeat.
