There's something deeply uncomfortable about watching a Test captain lose his composure. And that's exactly what happened at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon when Ben Stokes, England's poster boy for aggressive cricket, completely lost the plot.

With India's lower-middle orders grinding toward personal hundreds and time running out, Stokes walked up to Ravindra Jadeja with his hand extended. Not for congratulations, for surrender. He wanted the match called off right there with an hour still left on the clock.

What happened next was ugly.

"You want to score a Test century against Harry Brook?" Stokes sneered through gritted teeth, his frustration bleeding through the stump mic. England's part-timers were bowling absolute pies to help Jadeja and Washington Sundar reach their hundreds, but Stokes was having none of it. When Jadeja politely said the decision wasn't his to make, Zak Crawley jumped in: "Then shake hands. It's embarrassing."

The only thing embarrassing was England's tantrum.

From the dressing room, Shubman Gill watched it all unfold. The same Gill who'd been absolutely hammered by the English press after the third Test. The same bloke who'd told Stokes to "grow some b*lls" at Lord's. Now he was watching an entire England team lose their minds because two Indian batsmen dared to want hundreds.

You could see it in Gill's face. Pure disgust.

"Jadeja and Sundar played excellently and we thought they deserved a century there," Gill affirmed at the post-match talks, sticking firmly to the ‘Gill Code’: stay calm, sound classy, but let the eyes do the talking.

Stokes rebranded the meltdown at management of resources. "I didn't want to risk my fast bowlers with one match to go." However, fans took no time to point out that this had nothing to do with managing bowlers and everything to do with a captain who couldn't handle being denied a comfortable victory.

One can't deny as they think of it mindfully. India started their second innings 311 runs behind. They were 0/2, dead and buried. Chris Woakes had cleaned up both openers, and everyone was getting ready for an early finish. Then KL Rahul and Gill decided they weren't going quietly.

188 runs later, with Rahul falling agonisingly short on 90, in walked Jadeja. Another 203-run partnership with Sundar followed. Two complete sessions without losing a wicket. Twice. It was Test cricket at its finest.

Gautam Gambhir nailed it in the press conference: "If someone from England was batting on 90, would they have walked off?"

What made it worse was watching England's body language as Jadeja and Sundar inched toward their hundreds. No applause. No acknowledgement. Just sullen faces and frustrated gestures. As Sanjay Manjrekar said in commentary, they were "grumpy." Like children who'd had their toys taken away.

The thing is, this wasn't just about one match. This was about cricket's soul. In an age where everything's manufactured for entertainment, where results are manufactured and contests contrived, India did something beautifully old-fashioned. They refused to give up.

143 overs they batted across the last two days. Nearly six full sessions of Test cricket. Not to win – they couldn't win from where they were – but simply because that's what Test cricket demands. You bat until you can't bat anymore.

When Jadeja finally reached his hundred and kissed the Old Trafford pitch, it meant something. This wasn't a hundred made in favourable conditions or against tired bowling. This was earned through grit, determination, and an absolute refusal to accept defeat.

Gill's performance throughout this series has been extraordinary. Four hundreds in four Tests on English soil, becoming the first Asian to score 700 runs in a Test series in England. But more than the runs, it's been his attitude. The way he's carried himself after that media criticism. The way he's backed his teammates.

The rivalry between him and Stokes feels real now. Not manufactured or hyped up, but genuinely personal. Two different philosophies are colliding. Stokes represents modern cricket's impatience – force the result, dominate or be dominated. Gill embodies something more classical – earn what you get, respect the game's rhythms, never surrender what's rightfully yours.

As they head to the Oval with England 2-1 up, something's shifted. India didn't just save a Test match on Sunday. They reminded everyone what Test cricket is supposed to be about. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is simply refuse to lose.

And sometimes, a draw is better than a win.