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| September 9, 2002 | Monday | Rajab 1, 1423 |
Dravid dismissed for 217
LONDON, Sept 8: England reached 114 for no wicket, a lead of 121 runs, as the fourth and deciding Test against India looked to be heading for a draw at the close of play on the fourth day on Sunday.
Marcus Trescothick was unbeaten on 58 and Michael Vaughan on 47 after Rahul Dravid’s marathon knock of 217 led India to a first-innings total of 508 in reply to the hosts’ 515.
Trescothick and Vaughan began in typically breezy fashion, scoring at a run a ball in the first five overs before Indian captain Saurav Ganguly introduced leg-spinner Anil Kumble.
But neither his introduction, nor off-spinner Harbhajan Singh’s four overs later, did much to slow the run-rate as the England openers scored freely.
Vaughan became the second batsman to score 1000 Test runs in 2002 when he reached 16 after Dravid had achieved the feat earlier in the day.
Earlier in the final session, England finally wrapped up India’s innings when Kumble was caught by captain Nasser Hussain at slip for seven off left-arm spinner Ashley Giles and Harbhajan was bowled by Giles for 17.
But the day belonged to Dravid, who has scored three successive centuries on the way to 602 runs in the series at an average just over 100.
He batted for almost 10 1/2 hours and faced 468 balls in his highest Test innings before being run out after a mix-up with wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra shortly before tea.
The 29-year-old right-hander’s previous best Test score was 200 not out against Zimbabwe in Delhi in 2000.
He just missed the record for the highest innings by an Indian batsman overseas which remained Sunil Gavaskar’s 221 against England at The Oval in 1979.
Dravid received a standing ovation from the crowd and was applauded by the England team as he left The Oval arena.
He also set the record for most runs by an Indian batsman in a series against England, surpassing Vijay Manjrekar’s 586 in 1961-62.
A result is now unlikely in the deciding match of the series unless there is a spectacular batting collapse by England on Monday’s final day or a sporting declaration by Hussain.
India have not won a Test series away from the sub-continent since 1986. The four-match series is level at 1-1.
Scoreboard
ENGLAND (1st Innings) 515 (M.P. Vaughan 195, M.E. Trescothick 57, M.A. Butcher 54, D.G. Cork 52; Harbhajan Singh 5-115).
INDIA (1st Innings, overnight 66-1):
S.B. Bangar c Butcher b Hoggard 21
V. Sehwag c Cork b Caddick 12
R.S. Dravid run out 217
S.R. Tendulkar lbw b Caddick 54
S.C. Ganguly c Stewart b Cork 51
V.V.S. Laxman c Giles b Caddick 40
A.B. Agarkar b Vaughan 31
A. Ratra c Butcher b Caddick 8
A.R. Kumble c Hussain b Giles 7
Harbhajan Singh b Giles 17
Zaheer Khan not out 6
EXTRAS (B-10, LB-6, NB-28) 44
TOTAL (all out, 170 overs) 508
FALL OF WKTS: 1-18, 2-87, 3-178, 4-283, 5-396, 6-465, 7-473, 8-477, 9-493.
BOWLING: Hoggard 25-2-97-1 (11nb); Caddick 43-11-114-4 (3nb); Giles 49-12-98-2; Tudor 19-2-80-0 (8nb); Cork 22-5-67-1 (6nb); Vaughan 12-1-36-1.—Reuters
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