England were denied the series against India on Monday after the tourists clinched victory in the fifth Test at The Oval to draw the series 2-2. The match headed into a fifth day after rain halted play on Sunday. And Chris Woakes was forced to bat as England sought to get over the line, despite the fact he was batting one-armed due to a dislocated shoulder.
The series was enthralling and the decider in London proved the same as India secured their narrowest Test match win ever – by just six runs. Mohammed Siraj took nine wickets in the match, and five in the second innings, as he thwarted Woakes to secure a draw for the visitors.
Proceedings got underway at Headingley at the end of June as England won by five wickets. The Edgbaston Test followed at the start of July as India won by 336 runs. A tight encounter at Lord’s in the third Test resulted in another win for England, with the Three Lions clinching victory by 22 runs. And the fourth Test at Old Trafford ended in a draw to set up a nervy final Test in London.
The two sides were desperate to gain the advantage in the fifth Test, with India getting the upper hand during the opening days of action. And the home side were given a target of 374, which meant they would need to record their second-highest Test chase ever to win the series.
England appeared to be on their way to rack up the runs they required on Sunday, but the match was paused due to a heavy downpour, with England needing 35 runs with four wickets remaining.
And despite the fact the rain soon stopped, Test chiefs were unable to get the match restarted as the players were told to come back for a fifth day.
India came out with ferocity on Monday morning as Jamie Smith, Craig Overton and Josh Tongue fell early on.
And Woakes was forced into action as England’s final batter after injuring his shoulder while attempting to prevent a boundary in the first innings. He joined fellow batter Gus Atkinson, with the duo needing 17 runs to win the match and the series for England.
Atkinson smashed a six before adding another few runs as Woakes contended with what appeared to be agonising pain while running.
Atkinson attempted to keep the Warwickshire man away from batting duties, with the match hanging on a knife edge. But the Surrey man was eventually bowled, with India winning the Test by six runs.
India opener KL Rahul said: “Obviously nothing compares to winning the World Cup, but the way we have played in this series…
“For us as a team that wasn’t given a chance in this series, for us to fight back and fight in every game and get a result which is 2-2.
“It might seem like a draw but for Indian Test cricket going into the future it will rank right at the top. From this, we will go on and win many more series outside of India.”
Former England captain Nasser Hussain felt India fully justified a draw, saying on Sky Sports: “It would have been a travesty had England won the series 3-1. India deserve to make to 2-2 for the amount of good cricket they have played in this series.
“The final scoreline was well and truly deserved by India, and it was very fitting for [Mohammed] Siraj to get the final wicket.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk