India batted out the entire fifth day of the first test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, to secure a predictable draw against England on Sunday. Stuart Binny (78) and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (63) were the unlikely heroes for India.
The draw however, was not looking so predictable when England snapped up three wickets for 17 runs in the opening session of play, to leave India struggling at 184/6.
Beginning the day at 167/3, India lost Virat Kohli (8), Ajinkya Rahane (24) and MS Dhoni (11) within the span of 79 balls, with a lead of just 145 runs to defend.
Virat Kohli was caught LBW by Stuart Broad, who also claimed the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane. MS Dhoni was castled by Liam Plunkett. Dhoni tried to whip a good length ball through mid on but was late on it, resulting in his stumps being sprayed around. With over two and a half sessions left in the day, England fancied a shot at a moderate target at this point.
However, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who otherwise had a mediocre match, and Stuart Binny ensured that England were denied for another twenty overs before Jadeja (33) fell caught behind off the bowling of James Anderson.
Binny and medium pacer Bhuvaneshwar Kumar then continued the resistance, adding 91 for the 9th wicket in just 19.4 overs. Binny was then foxed by spinner Moeen Ali, whose ball pitched in line, turned and crashed into Binny's front leg. By this time though, the lead was 310 and out of England's reach.
Speedster Ishant Sharma and Kumar then extended England's agony for another 20 overs.
England captain Alastair Cook, who has gone 25 innings without a century, took the ball in the 121st over, highlighting the futility of the remainder of the contest. He was rewarded in his second over itself though, as Ishant flicked a full delivery down the leg side into the hands of Matt Prior.
India's score at this point was 391/9 with about half a session left in the game. India declared the innings and a draw was agreed upon as the only reasonable outcome.
James Anderson was declared the Man of the Match for his 81 in the first innings, in addition to four wickets in the match.
Earlier, India had scored 457 in the first innings on the back of a splendid 146 from opener Murali Vijay, and a record-breaking 111-run stand between the last wicket pair of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami. England had followed up with 496, with England's last wicket partnership between Joe Root and Jimmy Anderson scoring a world record 198 runs.
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