Jadeja and Sundar dig deep for India to deservedly take series to the wire

England frustrated by tourists' resilience and their own lack of ruthlessness with the ball

- Ali Martin

At the end of five exhausting days that produced plenty of memories but no outright winner, it was India who were celebrating. England believed they had made most of the running in this fourth Test, only to be thwarted by a monumental final-day rearguard and left chuntering about a couple of milestones delaying the handshakes.

Sitting 2-1 down with one to play, Shubman Gill's tourists can no longer win the series outright but they will head to the Oval buoyed by drawing this match. Ben Stokes gave it everything—141 in England's first innings, six wickets with the ball—and could reflect on his finest all-round match by way of numbers. But this was scant consolation after pushing through the pain barrier for the outcome he says he dislikes the most.

It was just the second time under his captaincy that Stokes has had to settle for a draw but unlike the previous one—two years ago, when England's hopes of regaining the Ashes were washed away by relentless rain here—there were no gripes about the Manchester weather. The final day stayed dry and India, who started it on 174 for two, still 137 runs in arrears, batted out three sessions for the loss of just two more wickets.

As much as England toiled, continuing a series in which their potency has dropped off after the new ball, this came down to a hugely uncompromising display from India's batters. The surface may have produced more Mogwais than Gremlins on its fifth day but from none for two before lunch on the fourth, 311 behind having shipped 669 runs in the field, lesser sides might have wilted under scoreboard pressure alone.