Ben Stokes’ latest injury-defying act did not encourage England as only a second draw of the Bazball era following stubborn India resistance kept the Rothesay series alive.
A difficult left leg and a fresh problem in his right shoulder did not deter Stokes, who snared KL Rahul for 90 on the last morning of the fourth Test to offer England hope of moving into an unassailable 3-1 series lead.
Jofra Archer then dismissed Shubman Gill for 103 on the stroke of lunch but Joe Root dropping Ravindra Jadeja from the subsequent ball proved crucial as he and Washington Sundar batted out the remainder of the day.
Nevertheless, there have been farcical scenes on the finish when it became clear there could be no winner as India’s batters elected against shaking hands with 15 overs left – the earliest opportunity a draw could possibly be agreed – so each could get their a whole bunch.
Root and Harry Brook provided buffet bowling to hurry things along, with Jadeja attending to his ton first and and Sundar followed to signal the tip of proceedings, with India on 425 for 4 with a lead of 114.
It was unnecessary distraction to what had been a superb India rearguard, with England barely acknowledging either century, because the tourists head to the Kia Oval still only trailing 2-1.
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Stokes’ Injury
With the fifth Test getting under way on Thursday, much of the main focus will likely centre on Stokes’ availability after he was left weary and wounded in Manchester.
He battled cramp in his left leg when batting on Friday and reported general soreness on Saturday, which meant he didn’t bowl as Rahul and Gill took India from nought for 2 to 174 for 2 overnight.
More fitness problems emerged almost as soon as he began bowling from the Sir James Anderson End, as he grimaced and repeatedly rubbed his right shoulder after sending down the second over of the day.
Despite being in visible discomfort, straightening his arm after every delivery in an eight-over spell, Stokes caused problems, with Gill’s drive on 81 bursting through a leaping Ollie Pope’s hands close in.
Match Motion
England burned their final review because the ineffective Liam Dawson erroneously thought Rahul had gloved down the leg-side, however the India opener was lbw as Stokes made the breakthrough together with his twentieth delivery.
With variable bounce in play at Stokes’ end, Rahul was beaten by a nip-backer that thudded into his knee roll in front of middle stump, with the England captain immediately celebrating.
Gill wore a painful blow to a right hand already heavily bandaged after one leapt off a length and struck him within the glove and helmet however the India captain soldiered on.
Having moved on to a titanic 700 runs for the series, Gill brought up a fourth three-figure rating of the trip off 228 balls with a push into the offside for a single.
By then, England had the second latest ball, taken 40 minutes before lunch, and Archer claimed the prize wicket of Gill, who fiddled outside off down the mistaken line and feathered through to Jamie Smith.
England must have ended the session with a spring of their step but Root parried then dropped the rebound at head height after Jadeja flirted at a rising delivery from Archer first up.
Dawson was tidy but nonthreatening initially of the afternoon, with the slow left-armer unable to benefit from the footholes outside the off-stump of India’s left-handed pair.
Sunder & Jadeja Partnership
Against an old ball and with the pitch flattening out, Sundar and Jadeja grew increasingly confident.
This was evident in the way in which they went after Stokes in his three-over burst from the Brian Statham End, which culminated in Sundar belting a six then a 4 and Jadeja cutting away to the boundary to take each batters to fifty and India into the lead.
Having conceded 15 from his allotment, Stokes looked as if it would accept one last moment of magic was beyond him and he hooked himself from the attack – ending with 11-2-33-1 – to seemingly end England’s flickering hopes of victory.
It seemed Dawson, who finished with nought for 95 from 47 overs, and Root would administer the last rites after tea but India were in no hurry to get off the sphere when the match ticked over into the last hour.
Each teams must agree on the draw and England were clearly unhappy at Jadeja and Sundar continuing, with Brook eventually called upon to send down some floaty off-spin while Root was kept on.
Jadeja got to his hundred in a blizzard of boundaries, eventually ending on 107 not out, before Washington brought up his first Test century in Brook’s next over before hands were shaken five overs after England had first offered them.