India snatch victory to draw dramatic Test series against England

Fifth Rothesay Test, The Kia Oval (day five of five)

India 224 (Nair 57, Atkinson 5-33, Tongue 3-57) & 396 (Jaiswal 118; Tongue 5-125)

England 247 (Crawley 64; Krishna 4-62, Siraj 4-86) & 367 (Brook 111, Root 105; Siraj 5-104)

India won by six runs; draw series 2-2

Scorecard

England were denied a record-breaking run chase by an irresistible India, who snatched victory by six runs in one of the most dramatic conclusions in Test cricket history.

In scenes that will go down in British sporting folklore, Chris Woakes came out to bat with his arm in a sling to support Gus Atkinson when England needed 17 to reach their target of 374.

Woakes was given a hero's welcome, then stood at the non-striker's end as Atkinson attempted to swipe England to victory.

Amid almost unbearable tension at The Oval, Atkinson and Woakes somehow tried to inch England on, surrounded by the deafening din of the febrile Indian support.

After Atkinson clobbered Mohammed Siraj for six, Woakes ran a bye to wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, who missed the stumps, in order for Atkinson to pinch the strike.

India kept the field back. Prasidh Krishna bowled the next over. Woakes was able to run a two, then another vital single off the final ball to leave Atkinson with the strike.

But Atkinson was bowled by the brilliant Siraj, giving India their narrowest victory in terms of runs in a Test.

It left one of the greatest series ever played level at 2-2, concluding 25 days of outstanding sporting theatre.

At the end of a fractious series, India broke off from the delirious celebrations to commiserate with Woakes, then embarked on a lap of honour, soaking up a historic win with their jubilant fans.

If the fourth day of this Test was astonishing for its fluctuations and high emotion, the fifth day provided drama that was barely believable.

England's target of 374 represented their second highest successful chase in Tests and the highest ever on this ground. They began Monday on 339-6, 35 adrift.

Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton were being given a torrid time on Sunday before the weather ended play early. England's task instantly looked easier on Monday when Overton pulled Krishna's first ball of the day for four and followed by inside-edging the next delivery past his stumps to the fine-leg fence.

The runs required were down to 27, then the pendulum swung once more.

Smith looked all at sea. He played and missed at his first two balls from Siraj and edged his third. There was a wait to see if Jurel had pouched the catch, but there was no doubt.

Atkinson edged the first ball he faced, inches short of KL Rahul at second slip. India's fans, comfortably outnumbering the England support, surrounded the ground with noise.

Siraj charged in again. Overton played all around his pad. Umpire Kumar Dharmasena took so long to raise his finger, Overton had completed a run. The England man was so sure the review would save him, he began to mark his guard, only for the replay to show umpire's call for shaving the leg stump. India were delirious.

Atkinson was unsure whether to farm the strike or trust Josh Tongue. The sky got darker and floodlights took hold. Tongue was given leg before to Krishna, only for the review to show the ball missing leg stump. England still needed 19.

England had added two more when Tongue was bowled by Krishna. There was confusion as to whether Woakes would bat, only for the 36-year-old to appear with his left arm covered by his England sweater.

Woakes ultimately never faced a ball, but his bravery will not be forgotten.

Atkinson's mighty blow off Siraj was parried over the ropes by Akash Deep and left England with 11 to win. India captain Shubman Gill had the decision over bringing in the field to prevent the single, or to protect the boundary. He chose the latter. Woakes was in obvious pain when he shuffled the bye off the final ball of Siraj's over.

Atkinson dug out Krishna for two to long-on, at the beginning of the next over. India kept the field back. England took another single. They needed seven when Siraj set off once more.

Atkinson cleared his front leg again, attempting another heave to the leg side, but Siraj's yorker was pinpoint. He ended with 5-104, his effort every bit as heroic as the lion-hearted Woakes.

After the memorable fourth day was curtailed by the weather, there were concerns this series would not get the finale it deserves, played to a conclusion in front of empty seats.

Not a bit of it. The Oval was sold out in advance and spectators made sure they were not late. They were rewarded with the epic ending, one that had echoes of the 2019 World Cup final, Ben Stokes at Headingley in the same year, or England's one-run defeat by New Zealand in Wellington two years ago.

It is a superb win for India, who deserve their 2-2 draw. They played this decisive Test without all of Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Nitish Kumar Reddy. This series may well be looked back on as the birth of a new team under Gill, who was prolific with the bat.

England were without injured captain Stokes, then had to deal with the injury sustained by Woakes on day one. The home side had a patched up pace attack and first-choice spinner Shoaib Bashir is out with a broken finger.

The battered bodies reflects the gruelling nature of a gripping series, arguably the best to take place in this country since the iconic 2005 Ashes.

What started with a stunning England run chase at Headingley moved to Gill's masterful batting at Edgbaston. England were taken to a tetchy victory at Lord's by the Herculean efforts of Stokes, then denied by India's gritty resistance at Old Trafford.

At various stages, Bashir bowled with a broken finger, Pant batted with a broken foot and Woakes batted with his dislocated shoulder. Neither team took a backward step and there were a number of flashpoint confrontations.

By the end, England missed out on a first series win against India since 2018 and their first win against any team in a five-Test series in the same time period.

More importantly, they failed in the first part of what they hoped would have been a glorious double, with the Ashes in Australia to come later this year.

The first Test in Perth is on 21 November. Woakes is already a huge doubt, and England face a nervous wait over the talismanic Stokes and key pace bowler Mark Wood.

Before then, they have white-ball contests at home to South Africa, then away in Ireland and New Zealand. None will match what we have witnessed over the past seven weeks. What a series.