Ben Stokes defies injury to rally England but fourth India Test ends in draw

Independent

5 days ago

Ben Stokes' latest injury-defying act failed to inspire England as just a second draw of the Bazball era following stubborn India resistance kept the Rothesay 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 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 425 for four with a lead of 114.
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 nought for two to 174 for two overnight.
More fitness problems emerged almost as soon as he started 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.
England burned their final review as the ineffective Liam Dawson erroneously thought Rahul had gloved down the leg-side, but the India opener was lbw as 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.
Gill wore a painful blow to a right hand already heavily bandaged after one leapt off a length and struck him in the glove and helmet but the India captain soldiered on.
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, who fiddled outside off down the wrong line and feathered through to Jamie Smith.
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.
Dawson was tidy but nonthreatening at the beginning of the afternoon, with the slow left-armer unable to take advantage of the footholes outside the off-stump of India's left-handed pair.
Against an old ball and with the pitch flattening out, Sundar and Jadeja grew increasingly confident.
This was evident in the way they went after Stokes in his three-over burst from the Brian Statham End, which culminated in Sundar belting a six then a four and Jadeja cutting away to the boundary to take both batters to fifty and India into the lead.
Having conceded 15 from his allotment, Stokes seemed to accept one last moment of magic was beyond him and he hooked himself from the attack – finishing 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 field when the match ticked over into the last hour.
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.