India draws test series against England after winning at the Oval by six runs

LONDON (AP) – India won the fifth test from England by just six runs at the Oval after taking the last four wickets in a thrilling hour on Monday.

India drew the series 2-2 with a test victory by its smallest ever margin on runs.

England began a drizzly morning needing 35 runs to reach the winning target of 374 and clinch the series 3-1. England had an entire fifth and final day to get there.

But in a tension-filled 53 balls of action, Mohammed Siraj took three wickets to finish with five for the innings, and Prasidh Krishna took the other.

With England down to one wicket remaining, allrounder Chris Woakes came out to bat one-handed with a dislocated left shoulder and was greeted by a standing ovation from a sell-out Oval crowd.

He was protected from facing a ball by Gus Atkinson but Atkinson couldn’t hold off Siraj and was the last man out, bowled under his attempted sweep by a Siraj full toss. England was all out for 367.

Siraj ran off with arms out in airplane mode. India took time out of its on-field celebrations to go up to Woakes and praise his boldness.

“When you have bowlers like Siraj and Prasidh like that, captaincy looks easy,” India captain Shubman Gill said. “The way we responded today was magnificent. We were confident, even yesterday, we knew they’re under pressure. We wanted to make sure it stayed throughout.

“Siraj is a captain’s dream. Gave it his all every ball and every spell he bowled. Two-two is a fair reflection (of the series). It shows how passionate both teams were and how well they played.”

His England counterpart Ben Stokes, who didn’t play because of a shoulder injury, also thought the series result was fair.

“The amount of effort from both teams to end up 2-2 is incredible,” Stokes said. “Losing Woakesy early on in the game changed the whole responsibility on the bowlers in particular, the roles they were selected for. The heart and passion and everything that was shown, especially in our second bowling innings, I thought was outstanding.

“To try and chase that total down in the way that we did was outstanding. That never-say-die, never-back-down attitude we’ve installed in the group nearly paid off for us.”

Only 35 runs were needed on the final morning but both teams managed to pack in a spectacle in the drizzle with the Oval lights on.

No. 8 batter Jamie Overton started it with boundaries off the first two balls, a pull and a cut.

Then Jamie Smith, England’s last recognized batter, nicked the seventh ball of the day and was caught behind with 27 runs still needed. The next ball by Siraj was also edged by Atkinson but didn’t carry to the slips.

Two overs later, Overton was caught plumb trying to defend Siraj’s wobble ball. Reviews showed it would have clipped leg stump.

No. 10 batter Josh Tongue overturned being given out in the same over. The runs needed was down to 20 with two wickets left.

India didn’t take the second new ball as the bowlers were making the old ball still work.

Then Tongue was yorkered by Krishna with 17 needed, bringing out Woakes.

He dislocated his shoulder while fielding on the first day Thursday and took no further part in the match. But as the test looked like going to the wire on Sunday, he batted in the nets to see how he’d fare. He walked out on Monday morning with his left arm in a sling tucked under his jersey to bat one-handed.

“Good on Woakesy, he is in an immense amount of pain,” England coach Brendon McCullum said. “He was never in doubt that, if needed, he would walk down the stairs and try get us across the line.”

Atkinson farmed the strike to protect his teammate.

When Atkinson swept Siraj, the ball popped out of Akash Deep’s hands and over the cow corner boundary for a six, to reduce the runs required to 11.

Woakes ran a bye in agony to get off strike for the next over and Atkinson hit another single to take guard for a third consecutive over, but his plan was upended by Siraj, and India’s party started.

“My plan was to hit my areas consistently and build pressure,” Siraj said. “Everything from there was a bonus. When I woke up today, I thought I could do it. I downloaded a picture from Google saying ‘Believe.'”