England 537 (Stokes 128, Root 124, Moeen 117) and 260 for 3 decl. (Cook 130, Hameed 82) drew with India 488 (Vijay 126, Pujara 124, Ashwin 70, Rashid 4-114) and 172 for 6 (Kohli 49*, Rashid 3-64)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
01:31
Ganguly: Cook’s temperament stands out
On a day that Alastair Cook scored his fifth Test century in India, the most by a visiting batsman, he came desperately close to registering an unlikely Test win, but his opposite number Virat Kohli and R Ashwin saw India through with a 14.2-over partnership after England needed six wickets in 25.2 of the minimum of 49 overs they had given themselves to win the Test in. As England bowled their overs quickly and got 52.3 of them in, Kohli, digging in, having a go at the team mascot for returning the ball too soon, casting rueful glances at his departing partners, hitting boundaries to eat up time, rescued India when they nearly threw it away through no experience of batting when to save Tests.
As much as Kohli’s resistance, the lower-order runs in the first innings and some tight bowling at times, India could thank umpire Chris Gaffaney’s interpretation that Ashwin was playing a shot when his bat would be hidden behind the pad and about a foot wide of the line of the ball. It arguably earned India nine overs.
Ashwin went on to survive 53 balls to go with Kohli’s 98 to finish a Test that he will count as a good one despite taking only three wickets in the whole match, which will be a moral victory for England. Ashwin had to bowl 61 overs for third of those after he had struck with the last ball of the first session of the Test. His match figures of 3 for 230 were keeping in with his overall average of 53.4 against England.
On the final day Ashwin felt the need to bowl with a changed action, getting more side-on, rocking back on the right foot, which resulted in more pace and more rip, but all that it got him was economical figures. He conceded 31 runs in 13.3 overs, which might have had a part to play in slightly conservative declaration: the asking rate for India was over six an over.
Having come so close in the end, England will wonder if they could have declared earlier – when the asking rate reached five perhaps – but only those who have worked extremely hard to get into lead will know the risks involved in giving a chance to an opposition that had won 12 last home Tests not affected by weather. They would have also taken into the equation the pitch, which was turning square in the end, but when England batted it did so from the rough and not from the centre, which is what concerns most batsmen.
Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo