Close India 315 for 4 (Dravid 131*, Tendulkar 54, Ganguly 51) trail England 515 by 200 runs
Scorecard Gallery

A masterclass of an innings from one of the world's great batsmen guided India to within one run of saving the follow-on, as England and India ground on towards stalemate in the final Test of the summer. It was not pretty stuff, as the bowlers plugged away with minimalist field placings, and at times it was decidedly dull. But for Rahul Dravid, who completed his third Test century in consecutive innings, it was the culmination of an unforgettable run of form.

By the time bad light brought about an early finish to the day's play, Dravid had marched on to 131 not out, with a demonstration of temperament and concentration that verged on the bloodless. He had come to the crease after the early loss of Virender Sehwag on Friday evening, and though the pressure was less than in his matchwinning knock at Headingley, and his matchsaving effort at Trent Bridge, his relentless pursuit of runs and time was phenomenal to behold. Measured and methodical in his every shot selection, he ticked along to three figures with mechanical precision.

There was little romance in the day's play – although there briefly threatened to be. The ovation that greeted Sachin Tendulkar in his 100th Test might have been shipped in from the Wankhede Stadium, and after an uncertain start had developed into a fusillade of boundaries, most people assumed a century would be his by right. But then, having sashayed along to 54, Tendulkar misjudged a yorker-length delivery and was struck flush on the side of the foot by Andrew Caddick. At a glance the ball was threatening to sneak past leg, but as Hawkeye showed, it was a good decision from umpire Asoka de Silva, and a very brave one as well.

It was just reward for Caddick, who had troubled Tendulkar early on with his extra bounce, and was in the middle of his best spell for weeks, and all of England's bowlers kept plugging away. But on a pitch that is still true, despite some mischievous footholes outside off stump, there were too many four-balls on offer, and India took full toll with a mesmerising array of dabs, cuts and drives.

Alex Tudor occasionally threatened, and while Dominic Cork was steady, his lack of pace allowed Tendulkar in particular to steer him to the third man boundary. Ashley Giles found some handy turn from outside leg and even deigned to bowl around the wicket to Tendulkar for once, but Michael Vaughan, generously billed as "England's second spinner" after that Trent Bridge wonderball, probed away outside off without much prospect of success.

England managed just a solitary wicket in each session. Sanjay Bangar's obdurate knock lasted another 45 minutes in the morning, before he was finally snared by Matthew Hoggard, who tempted him to nibble a catch straight to Mark Butcher at second slip. Bangar made 21 in a little over two hours. And after an explosive start to his innings had injected a bit of oomph into India's batting, the tea-break did for Sourav Ganguly.

Ganguly raced to 37 with a series of leaping cut shots and hyperactive footwork, but he could never settle after the resumption and was tied in knots by an impressive spell from Giles and Cork. Cork might have him caught at short leg off the second ball of the session had John Crawley not still been digesting his tea. But he got his man soon afterwards, again via a miscued swat at a short ball, which bobbled off the glove to Alec Stewart behind the stumps.

Dravid however was as solid as ever, and India's position was none the worse with VVS Laxman striding to the crease. They were unseparated by the close, for all Cork's bluster and Caddick's rhythm, and so, too, were the fortunes of the side.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd