A placard at The Oval summed it up succinctly. It’s England versus Dravid.

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Rahul Dravid batted for 434 minutes in the match before he ran out of steam but he is not sure if his magnum would be enough for India to save the fourth Test against England. By the end of the fourth day’s play on Sunday, the ignominy of a whitewash was still looming large. If only Dravid had some support from his teammates…

Dravid remained unbeaten on 146 in India’s first innings, carrying the bat through, but he was back in the middle 10 minutes later, opening the batting in the second innings. Shane Warne, commentating here for Sky Sports, said Gautam Gambhir should have showed heart and come out to open with Virender Sehwag in the second innings. He was not prepared for the challenge.

Thanks to Dravid, India gave an improved batting display on Sunday, reaching 300 for the first time in the series but they still ended up conceding a massive 291-run lead. Virender Sehwag managed to survive not only the first ball or first over but also the first hour in the second innings. But that was it. He was not good enough to survive the day. India were 129 for three, still 162 in arrears.

Whether Dravid’s effort would be enough for India to save the Test is not known but it ensured India took the fourth Test to the fifth day. India had lost the last two Tests inside four days. A lot will depend on the senior batsmen, mainly Sachin Tendulkar, who was unbeaten on 35. He has his best chance to score that 100th international century and save India the humiliation of being swept away in the series.

Resuming at 103 for five in the morning, Dhoni showed the required skills to tackle the England bowling, spearheaded by Graeme Swann. But the India skipper edged a James Anderson delivery while on 17. At 137 for six, it appeared as though India’s first innings would fold up before the lunch break but Dravid found unexpected support from Amit Mishra.

Mishra came ahead of Gambhir and batted with a lot of courage, application and discipline. He used his feet well and provided ample support to Dravid. The two added 87 runs before Tim Bresnan got Mishra to play an uppish delivery. Gambhir then joined Dravid and the two added 40 runs for the eighth wicket before the former was sent back by Stuart Broad.

RP Singh played some big shots, helping India to touch the 300 mark, for the first time in the series, but last man S Sreesanth failed to last long. Dravid had batted for 379 minutes in the first innings for his unbeaten 146.

In the second innings, Dravid successfully reviewed a decision after he was given out for a bat-pad appeal, but he could not last too long. Andrew Strauss got a similar decision successfully reviewed after he appeared to have nicked one off Swann.

Dravid’s second innings lasted 54 minutes. England celebrated Dravid’s dismissal as if they have won the Test. It is up to the rest of the batsmen, particularly Tendulkar, to prove that India’s batting does not begin and end with Dravid.