England showed tremendous character, both with the bat and ball, on Sunday, to give themselves a chance of escaping with a draw in the third and final Test at The Oval, in London.
After bowling out England for 345 in their first innings on the fourth day of the Test, India captain Rahul Dravid shockingly decided against enforcing the follow-on in conditions best suited for swing bowling.
As was the case, India paid for that decision as they lost three quick wickets and were reduced to 11 for 3 in the seventh over before Sourav Ganguly rescued them with a fluent half-century (57).
Dravid also disappointed with the bat in the second innings as he laboured his way to a painstaking 12 off 96 deliveries before being caught in the slips off part-timer Paul Collingwood.
India declared their second innings at 180 for 6, setting England a huge 500 for victory.
In reply, England's openers came up with a determined batting performance, putting up 56 for no loss in 20 overs at stumps on the penultimate day.
India had scored a mammoth 664 in their first innings, courtesy Kumble's 110, his maiden Test century.
India lead the series 1-0, having won the second Test, while the first at Lord's ended in a draw.
Morning session: (54 runs, 20.3 overs, 4 wickets)
England Innings:
Anil Kumble claimed the last English wicket in the first innings, when he trapped Monty Panesar leg before wicket for 9 as England were bowled out for 345 in the eighth over of the day.
Chris Tremlett finished unbeaten on 25, inclusive of two boundaries, as the last pair added 40 runs before falling in the eighth over of the day.
England finished 319 runs behind India's first innings, but captain Rahul Dravid decided against enforcing the follow-on. With the unpredictable English weather and a lead of more than 300 runs under their belt, one would have thought India would take a positive approach and try and win the match instead of taking the safer approach.
Zaheer Khan was once again the pick of the Indian bowlers as he took 3 for 32 in his 22 overs. Kumble also toiled hard after his century in the first innings to claim 3 for 94 in 29.1 overs.
S Sreesanth provided good support, taking 2 for 80 in 21 overs.
India innings
India tactics might have been to bat around two sessions till tea and look to get around 200 runs and then put England in again with more than 500 to chase. But it remained to be seen how quickly they could get the runs and how much they would rue their decision if the weather played some part.
Dinesh Karthik seemed clear with his intentions when he hit Chris Tremlett for two consecutive boundaries in the second over of the innings. Not having Ryan Sidebottom to bowl, after he was ruled out with side strain in the first innings, was a big blow for England.
Wasim Jaffer fell leg before wicket, without scoring, when he left an incoming delivery from James Anderson. Once again umpire Ian Howell made a poor decision as the ball would have clearly gone on to bounce over the stumps. Umpire Howell waited for ages, perhaps thinking how much it would bounce, but still gave one of the worst decisions ever seen.
Karthik then fell in Tremlett's next over, caught at second slip off Paul Collingwood for 8, as India slipped into early trouble at 10 for 2.
Once again Sachin Tendulkar walked to a standing ovation from the packed house at The Oval. Would he play a conservative game or look for some quick runs?
He, however, could not last long either as his stumps were sent crashing by Anderson in the seventh over of the innings. Tendulkar went for a expansive drive on the off-side, but the inswinger took an inside edge and uprooted his middle and leg stumps.
Tendulkar was gone for 1 in what could possibly be his last Test appearance on English soil as India slipped to a precarious 11 for 3.
Anderson's first four overs were all maidens as he ended up claiming the wickets of Jaffer and Tendulkar.
At the other end, Dravid would have surely been wondering about his decision against enforcing the follow-on. With an overcast sky hovering, the England pacers were surely making merry while India were thinking what would have been had they opted to bowl.
Sourav Ganguly looked keen to score runs as soon as he walked out in the middle. He was also helped by the fact that the pacers had difficulty in adjusting their length to the left-hander.
Ganguly raced to 21 off 18 deliveries, hitting four boundaries to ease India's nerves a little bit. At the other end, Dravid was still looking edgy as he played and missed quite a lot, scoring 2 off 32 deliveries.
India reached 35 for 3 in 13.2 overs and suddenly it started raining, much to the delight of English fans.
The two Indian batsmen rushed back to the pavilion and now surely the Indian dressing room could have been ruing the fact of opting not to make England follow-on.
There are predictions for a few light showers through the day thereby adding to India's woes. One is sure Dravid's decision not to enforce the follow-on will be debated for a long time to come in the Indian maidans and bars if England escape with a draw.
Post-Lunch session: (32.4 overs, 86 runs, 2 wickets)
Ganguly continued looking for runs after lunch and lashed out at anything wide outside the off-stump. He scored two boundaries in the 16th over by Tremlett and although both loose shots, the runs were flowing and easing off the pressure on India.
Howell's list of blunders continued to grow with every passing hour. And this time it was the English team and fans who were unhappy after he ruled Dravid not out to a leg before wicket appeal. Hawkeye and television replays showed the ball could have hit the leg stump as Dravid was struck right in front of middle stump while shuffling across. And this shout looked closer than the Jaffer leg before appeal, which was given out.
While Ganguly was going all quite nicely after lunch, scoring 37 off 37 deliveries, with 7 boundaries, Dravid failed to get going. Obviously the decision not to enforce the follow-on and then such conditions could have been playing on his mind, but he was not helping India's cause one bit by batting so cautiously.
After lunch he took 35 deliveries to score a run as he moved on to 3 from 54 deliveries and this after planning to score some quick runs to set England a huge target and have time on hand.
Ganguly brought up the 50-run partnership for the fourth wicket with a sweetly-timed boundary through the covers. Interestingly, the left-hander had scored 45 from 46 deliveries in the partnership, while Dravid's contribution was 5 from 53 deliveries.
Ganguly's shots on the off-side were just impeccable, one free-flowing shot after another. It was the sort of counter-attacking innings that India were hoping for after those early wickets and with Dravid struggling at the other end.
In the 25th over, he opened the face of the bat and guided Paul Collingwood quite cleverly to the third man fence and two balls later took a single on the leg side to bring up his half-century. It took him just 53 deliveries and included nine crisp boundaries to reach the milestone.
However, his entertaining innings could not continue for long as Collingwood got him caught in the slips off a wide pitched up delivery.
The left-hander made 57 off 68 deliveries, hitting nine boundaries, but as far as the team was concerned he had done his job to perfection. He dominated the 65-run partnership with his captain Dravid, who could manage just 5 off 67 deliveries.
So rare were runs from Dravid's bat that crowd gave him a loud cheer every time he took one. The Indian captain continued grafting for runs but his first boundary he scored in his 91st delivery must have given him great relief. He cut a short delivery from Panesar to the third man boundary for his first boundary of the innings and moved into doubles figures to 12.
His painful 140-minute stint at the crease came to a tame end when he guided it straight to first slip after scoring 12 from 96 balls, with just a single boundary. A huge roar swept across the ground as the Indian captain walked back to the pavilion after disappointing so many Indian fans.
The bizarre part about Dravid's innings was that even though he was struggling, he didn't make an effort to rotate the strike and keep the runs coming. It seemed as if India were down and looking to save the match instead of the other way round.
VVS Laxman and Mahendra Singh Dhoni played with a great amount of freedom as they looked keen to score some runs and not just waste time in the middle playing perfect defensive shots.
In the 44th over, Dhoni made his intentions clear when he launched Panesar over the midwicket fielder for a boundary as India progressed to 113 for 5. Three balls later, Alastair Cook at silly point dropped a difficult chance as Dhoni was squared up and got an outside edge which quickly flew past Cook.
At tea on the fourth day, India reached 121 for 5 in 46 overs, with both Laxman and Dhoni on 16 each.
It was quite a strange session in many ways for India. Firstly, came the strange decision against enforcing the follow-on and then Dravid's slow batting in the second session, allowing England to dictate terms.
With four sessions to go, India hold a commanding lead of 440 runs, but seeing their defensive tactics right from the start of this match, it won't be a surprise if they elect to play out the full session.
Dhoni and Laxman must get after the bowlers and look to score some quick runs, which is their best chance to win the match that is if they are looking to win it.
It is important to play safe and ensure you win the country's first Test series in England in 21 years, but rarely do you get such easy chances to win a Test abroad and beat England 2-0 in their own backyard.
Post-tea session: (109 runs, 32 overs, 1 wicket)
Panesar was bowling over the wicket on the rough outside the batsmen's pads with the obvious aim of trying to stop them scoring. However, in the 50th over, Dhoni swept him for two boundaries, the first one was the conventional sweep to square leg while the second, a cute reverse sweep as India reached 141 for 5 after 50 overs.
Dhoni, on 36, got a life when Anderson, at mid-on, failed to cling on to a difficult diving attempt. The England fast bowler produced an acrobatic full length dive to his right to a powerfully-struck Dhoni shot, held the catch, but spilled it as he landed on the ground. It would have been an
extraordinary catch, maybe the catch of the year, had he hung on.
But Dhoni did not survive long as he fell four balls later, caught behind off Tremlett for 36, hitting four boundaries in his 68-ball knock.
Laxman stroked his way to 46, inclusive of four boundaries, as India declared on 180 for 6 after 58 overs. They thus declared 499 runs ahead, setting England a huge target of 500 to win the match and level the series.
India had 20 overs before the close of play to have a go at the English batsmen. With conditions perfect for swing bowlers, it remained to be seen whether Indian pacers could strike a few early blows.
For England, Anderson emerged as the best bowler, taking 2 for 34 in 15 overs. Tremlett (2 for 58) and Collingwood (2 for 24) chipped in with useful spells to stem India's charge.
With around 110 overs to bat, would England be brave to make a match out of it? Or would they rather be looking to save the game?.
(England innings)
Chasing 500 is always a daunting task for any team, whether England, Australia or India. There was no doubt that England would look to save this match, but it was also important for them to play their natural game and not get bogged down and then bow to the pressure.
The Indian opening bowlers didn't get as much as the English pacers earlier in the day; it was also due to the fact that they were just trying to maintain a good line and length. They were well aware about how they sprayed the ball around in the first innings, so they were looking to keep it tight.
Zaheer Khan didn't look his best, as he even went to the dressing room after suffering from a thigh strain.
England's first boundary came in the seventh over when Alastair Cook sent one cracking through point off Zaheer.
Sreesanth dished out a magnificent over against Strauss when time and again he went after the edge of the left-hander's bat. The Kerala pacer was smashed through point off the first delivery, which was short and wide, but then he learnt from it and kept it perfect.
Cook and Strauss brought up the 50-run partnership in the 18th over when Strauss cut a short delivery from Kumble to the point fence.
All frontline bowlers had a disappointing outing in the second innings, this compared to the England pacers, who enjoyed a lot of help from the wicket early on.
In fact, England enjoyed some early success because of the length they maintained as they kept it up and around the off-stump.
At close of play on the fourth day, England reached a solid 56 for no loss, chasing an improbable 500 for victory.
Both Cook and Strauss batted with great maturity and common sense to finish unbeaten on 27 and 23 respectively. From England's point of view, the best part was that the two openers had safely negotiated the 20 overs, a small but important step as they look to draw this match.
The Indian pacers will need to come up with a better showing on the final day and look for some early wickets else it would turn out to be a long hard day for them.
It remains to be seen whether England can save the match. If they do that, what will Dravid have to say of his decision against enforcing the follow-on.
