Gill and Rahul added an unbeaten stand worth 174 runs on Day 4 ©Getty
On Day 3, India were hit with the cruelty of a number: they had conceded 500 runs in an innings of an away Test for the first time in a decade. On the fourth day at Old Trafford, that number ticked beyond 600 - a territory they last wandered into in 2014, at the Basin Reserve. That Wellington Test might yet prove a red herring. Or, if things miraculously fall into place on Day 5, a strangely perfect reference point.
The thread connecting Basin Reserve to Old Trafford is Brendon McCullum, then New Zealand's captain, now England's head coach. Eleven years ago, McCullum was joined by BJ Watling with his side 94 for 5 in the third innings, trailing by 152. He walked back with a triple hundred. The game was saved. The innings became a parable of resistance: of a team under siege refusing to fold.
This week in Manchester, India have been under siege, and for the first time in the series, which they trail 1-2. They lost an important toss, posted what looked like a fighting total, and then wilted under postcard weather. Over five-and-a-half sessions, they watched Zak Crawley carve cover drives, Ben Duckett feast on freebies down leg, Joe Root
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