England attack neutralised by Dravid defence

India 357 and 424-8 dec England 617 Match drawn

With the ground full, they shut the gates after lunch at Trent Bridge yesterday. Whether it was the prospect of an England victory, Sachin Tendulkar on 56 not out, or the fact that a mum or dad could waste a day of the school holidays without remortgaging the house that attracted them, who cares? It was a reassuring sight for cricket in this country, nearly as encouraging as the continued development of Nasser Hussain's team.

England failed to win this second npower Test match in the face of resolute and pugnacious Indian batting, but there was no disgrace in that. This was a cracking day's cricket to finish an excellent Test match. A positive result would have been inevitable were it not for the weather, which robbed the game of 76 overs before Sourav Ganguly declared India's second innings closed on 424 for 8 with 10 overs remaining. With a lead of 164 and potentially only eight overs left, it was clear the chance of a result had passed.

In the end, India achieved what they had been looking for, but that was not before the day's play had swung one way, then the other. It played with your emotions like a temperamental teenager. Just when you thought it was over, an England bowler produced something to give their side hope. When India needed a defiant innings someone dug in.

By the time stumps were drawn everyone was drained and it was pleasing to see Hussain warmly shake the hand of the 17-year-old debutant Parthiv Patel. The Indian's 82-minute occupation said an enormous amount for his character.

The weariest would have been England's bowlers, who strained and stretched every last sinew in an attempt to make the decisive breakthrough. Hussain rotated his bowlers and changed his fields continuously, but, in the end, three innings of class prevented his side from taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in this four-match series.

Picking India's most influential contribution is hard. Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar played their part, but the 115 by Rahul Dravid stood out for its control and composure. Nicknamed "The Wall" in India for the solidity of his defence, England's bowlers blew and blew but failed to knock him down, as he moved to his 11th Test hundred and his first against the home side. With eyes like a hawk, he ducked and swayed out of the way of the short ball while England's five quick bowlers took it in turns to try to bully him. When the ball was pitched up, though, his bat stayed straight with his weight moving forward. Technically, it was an innings any batsman could learn from, even though he benefited from a caught-behind decision on 73.

For an hour and 50 minutes Dravid batted without scoring a boundary, but it failed to bother him. He was doing his job. His innings ended when Dominic Cork trapped him lbw just when the visitors appeared safe.

Dravid received excellent support from his captain, Ganguly, who cruelly fell one run short of a richly deserved century. Riding his luck at times by flirting with balls outside his off stump, there was a defiance about his batting that is rarely seen. If taking the initiative away from Hussain and his bowlers was part of India's plan it was succeeding with only an injudicious hook shot from V V S Laxman leading to the loss of a wicket. Despite bowling better than in India's first innings, England's attack was punished any time it veered from a good length, with Ganguly being the main benefactor.

India have often been viewed as something of a soft touch when abroad, but yesterday they showed that there is spirit and fight in their side as well as a sublime talent. These passions were put to their severest test when Ganguly was dismissed by Stephen Harmison, who kept going strongly throughout the game and nearly became a hero when he bowled Harbhajan Singh for one. However, Patel and Zaheer Khan stood firm.

Only a single wicket fell during a morning session dominated by the visitors, but it was the one England wanted: Sachin Tendulkar. After withstanding aggressive opening spells from Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Flintoff, Tendulkar and his overnight partner, Dravid, then started to exploit the best batting conditions of the match.

On a cool, breezy and sunny day, the ball, for the first time in the game, stopped swinging. This, combined with the fact that the pitch failed to deteriorate because of the moisture that it contained early in the match, made batting a far less hazardous occupation. Nobody enjoyed this more than the little master himself, who seemed in wonderful touch and determined to prove a point to those who doubt his capabilities under pressure.

Tendulkar moved to 92 with a glorious array of cuts, clips and drives before being drawn into an extravagant extra-cover drive by the occasional off-spin of Michael Vaughan. The ball turned sharply in the foot-holes created by India's left-arm seamers and bowled him.

The fact that Vaughan – the man of the match for his 197 – spun the ball and took two important wickets probably left Hussain with his biggest regret. Leaving Ashley Giles out of the side was always a risk and was based on doubts that all his seamers would have got through the game. The other regret may have been coming off the field for bad light with nine overs still left on Saturday . In the end, though, England still had plenty of time to bowl India out and the series is still alive as it travels to Headingley in 10 days' time.

TRENT BRIDGE SCOREBOARD

Fifth day; India won toss

INDIA – First Innings 357 (V Sehwag 106, S C Ganguly 68, Harbhajan Singh 54; M J Hoggard 4-105).

ENGLAND – First Innings 617 (M P Vaughan 197, C White 94 no,A J Stewart 87, M A Butcher 53).

INDIA – Second Innings (Overnight: 99 for 2)
R Dravid lbw b Cork 115
S R Tendulkar b Vaughan 92
S C Ganguly b Harmison 99
V V S Laxman c White b Cork 14
A B Agarkar lbw b Vaughan 32
P A Patel not out 19
Harbhajan Singh b Harmison 1
Z Khan not out 14
Extras (b5 lb12 w4 nb12) 33
Total (for 8 dec, 504 min, 115 overs) 424

Fall (cont): 3-174 (Tendulkar), 4-309 (Dravid), 5-339 (Laxman), 6-378 (Ganguly), 7-395 (Agarkar), 8-396 (Harbhajan).

Did not bat: A Nehra.

Bowling: Hoggard 23-0-109-1 (nb2) (9-0-56-1, 4-0-14-0, 6-0-24-0, 3-0-12-0, 1-0-3-0); Flintoff 22-2-95-1 (nb1, w2) (4-0-24-1, 5-0-19-0, 1-0-8-0, 5-2-13-0, 6-0-27-0, 1-0-4-0); Harmison 29-5-63-2 (nb1, w1) (6-1-17-0, 8-0-14-0, 1-0-4-0, 6-2-11-0, 3-1-7-1, 5-1-10-1); Cork 12-1-54-2 (nb2, w1) (1-0-1-0, 2-0-22-0, 1-0-1-0, 2-1-5-1, 2-0-15-1, 1-0-2-0, 3-0-8-0); Vaughan 21-5-71-2 (nb6) (5-2-10-1, 3-1-16-0, 2-0-15-0, 4-1-18-0, 7-1-12-1); White 8-2-15-0 (2-1-1-0, 3-0-6-0, 2-1-4-0, 1-0-4-0).

Progress: Fifth day: 100: 92 min, 19.4 overs. 150: 142 min, 30.2 overs. 200: 203 min, 44.5 overs. Lunch: 211-3 (Dravid 73, Ganguly 24) 48 overs. 250: 263 min, 59 overs. 300: 338 min, 77.2 overs. New ball: taken after 82 overs at 313-4. Tea: 315-4 (Ganguly 81, Laxman 2) 83 overs. 350: 400 min, 90.4 overs. 400: in 468 min, 104.3 overs. Declaration: 6.50pm.

Dravid 50: 118 min, 80 balls, 10 fours. 100: 302 min, 208 balls, 14 fours.

Tendulkar 50: 60 min, 44 balls, 10 fours.

Ganguly 50: 94 min, 66 balls, 9 fours.

Umpires: R E Koertzen (SA) and R B Tiffin (Zim).

Man of the match: M P Vaughan.