Ben Stokes’ latest injury-defying act has failed to inspire England as just a second draw of the Bazball era following stubborn India resistance at Old Trafford kept the Test series alive.
A troublesome left leg and a fresh problem in his right shoulder failed to deter Stokes, who snared KL Rahul for 90 on the last morning of the fourth Test to give 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 next ball proved crucial as he and Washington Sundar batted out the rest of the day.
However, there were farcical scenes at the finish on Sunday when it became clear there would be no winner as India’s batters elected against shaking hands with 15 overs left – the earliest opportunity a draw could be agreed – so both could get their hundreds.
Root and Harry Brook provided buffet bowling to speed things along, with Jadeja getting to his ton first and and Sundar followed to signal the end of proceedings, with India on 4-424 and a lead of 113.
It was unnecessary distraction to what had been a brilliant India rearguard, with England barely acknowledging either century, as the tourists head to the Kia Oval still only trailing 2-1.
With the fifth Test getting under way on Thursday, much of the 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 did not bowl as Rahul and Gill took India from 2-0 to 2-174 overnight.
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.
Stokes made the breakthrough with his 20th 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.
Having moved on to a titanic 700 runs for the series, Gill brought up a fourth three-figure score of the trip off 228 balls with a push into the offside for a single.
By then, England had the second new ball, taken 40 minutes before lunch, and Archer claimed the prize wicket of Gill.
England should have ended the session with a spring in their step but Root parried then dropped the rebound at head height after Jadeja flirted at a rising delivery from Archer first up.
Against an old ball and with the pitch flattening out, Sundar and Jadeja grew increasingly confident through the afternoon.
Both 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 finishing 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.
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