LONDON, Sept 9: The fourth and deciding Test between England and India ended in a draw at The Oval Monday after heavy rain killed off any chance of a dramatic finale.
Overnight and morning downpours washed out the final day without a ball being bowled, dashing India’s slim chances of winning their first series outside the sub-continent since 1986.
England were left on 114 for no wicket in their second innings, a lead of 121, with Marcus Trescothick on 58 and Michael Vaughan — bidding for a fifth Test century in an English summer — on 47 when play was called off at 1200 GMT.
Rahul Dravid’s marathon knock of 217 had led India to a first-innings total of 508 in reply to the hosts’ 515.
“I was a little bit surprised with the wicket,” said India captain Saurav Ganguly. “The Oval normally has a lot more bounce.
“That’s the way it goes (but) we must also learn to get sides out on flat wickets.”
The game had promised so much after India had won the third Test at Leeds by an innings and 46 runs to level the series at 1-1.
Dravid scored his third successive century of the series after making 115 at Trent Bridge and 148 at Leeds, and also became the first player in 2002 to score 1,000 Test runs.
England opener Vaughan had hit 195, his third century of the series, in the first innings. Vaughan became the second batsman to pass 1,000 runs in 2002, achieving the feat in his second innings just hours after Dravid.
Both men scored more than 600 runs in the series and averaged over 100.
England had been initially looking at a total in excess of 600 after finishing the first day at 336 for two.
“We did lose the momentum there definitely,” said England captain Nasser Hussain, referring to the second day. “But you have to give credit to the other side.
“India obviously worked to their game plan and were much more disciplined on day two... and we lost our way a little bit.”
Meanwhile, Sachin Tendulkar and India’s leading cricketers were picked for the ICC Champions Trophy on Monday, finally ending a long-running sponsorship wrangle which had threatened to derail the tournament.
India’s cricket board named a full-strength squad, with Ganguly as captain, for the event starting in Sri Lanka on Thursday after a global teleconference with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and other Test-playing nations.
The row, which centred over the conflicting rights of the official tournament sponsors and the players’ personal sponsors, had been threatening the biggest one-day event outside the World Cup since early August.
The ICC last week appeared to have solved the crisis after brokering a compromise with the India players, only for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to reject it.
But Indian board chief Jagmohan Dalmiya agreed at the eleventh hour after the ICC said his board would not have to pay the bill if it were later sued by sponsors linked to the Champions Trophy.
“After discussion for an hour and 45 minutes, it has been agreed upon that all financial consequences arising out of the Champions Trophy will be borne by the ICC,” Dalmiya told reporters in Kolkata.
India squad: Saurav Ganguly (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Mongia, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Vangipurappu Laxman, J.P. Yadav.
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) 508 (R.S. Dravid 217, S.R. Tendulkar 54, S.C. Ganguly 51; A.R. Caddick 4-114).
ENGLAND (2nd Innings, overnight 114-0):
M.E. Trescothick not out 58
M.P. Vaughan not out 47
EXTRAS (B-4, NB-5) 9
TOTAL (for no wkt, 28 overs) 114
BOWLING: Zaheer Khan 5-0-37-0 (4nb); Bangar 2-0-6-0; Kumble 10-2-28-0 (1nb); Harbhajan Singh 7-1-24-0; Agarkar 4-0-15-0.
RESULT: Match drawn (series: 1-1).
UMPIRES: E.A.R. de Silva (Sri Lanka) and D.L. Orchard (South Africa).
TV UMPIRE: N.A. Mallender (England).
MATCH REFEREE: C.H. Lloyd (West Indies).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Rahul Dravid.
MEN-OF-THE-SERIES: Michael Vaughan and Rahul Dravid.
FIRST TEST: Lord’s, England won by 170 runs.
SECOND TEST: Trent Bridge, match drawn.
THIRD TEST: Headingley, India won by an innings and 46 runs.—Reuters