India completed one of the most dramatic Test match victories ever seen on British soil, squaring the series with a stunning six-run victory after Chris Woakes attempted to carry England over the line with a dislocated shoulder.
England arrived on the final day of a classic Test summer needing 35 runs to complete a remarkable chase of 374 but were blown away on a morning of unbearable tension and true sporting drama.
They lost four for 28 as Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson succumbed to searing pressure at The Oval.
Woakes, who is expected to be out for several months with the injury he sustained in the field on Friday, answered his country’s call by coming out at number 11 to try and finish the job.
Holding the bat in hand, with his left arm bundled up in a sling under his sweater, he joined the fray with 17 runs still needed and was grimacing in pain throughout his brief stay.
In the end he did not face a ball as Mohammed Siraj clean bowled Atkinson to secure a sensational result and a 2-2 series draw.
With an incredible test series came some interesting statistics, too. The best ones are below:
7,187
There have been a cumulative 7,187 runs scored in the series – the second-highest total ever, behind the 1993 Ashes with 7,221. That was in six Tests, making this a record for a five-match series.
21
The 21 total centuries, rounded off by Harry Brook and Joe Root on Sunday, equals the all-time record set in the 1955 Australia v West Indies series.
6
India’s six-run win in the final match is their narrowest margin by runs in the 183 Tests they have won, the previous lowest being 13 runs over Australia in Mumbai in November 2004.
5
All five matches went to the fifth day, the first time that has been true of a five-Test series since the 2017-18 Ashes in Australia – won 4-0 by the hosts.
754
India captain Shubman Gill top-scored with 754 runs in the series, with four centuries and an average of 75.40. Ravindra Jadeja averaged 86.00 while Joe Root led the way for England with 537 runs at 67.12.
13,453
Root’s efforts took him up to second on the all-time list of Test run-scorers, ending the series on 13,453 for his career and trailing only Sachin Tendulkar’s 15,921 for India. Root also reached a record 213 Test catches.
23
Mohammed Siraj led all bowlers with 23 wickets, including the series-tying dismissal of Gus Atkinson. Josh Tongue’s 19 scalps led England’s attack while Atkinson’s one appearance brought eight wickets at a series-best average of 20.00.
2
Substitute wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel took two stumpings after Rishabh Pant’s injury during the fourth Test, removing Root and Brook. There had previously been only three stumpings by substitutes in the history of Test cricket.
57
Karun Nair’s 303 not out against England in Chennai in 2016 remains more runs than he has scored in his entire Test career outside of that innings. He has 279 runs at an average of 19.71 in his other 14 knocks, with just one half-century – 57 in the first innings of this match.
