Opener Lokesh Rahul hit a whirlwind century on the final day of the England tour even as India continue to fight for a draw at The Oval on Tuesday.
Rahul, 26, brought up his fifth Test hundred with a four off Ben Stokes in the 41st over. He hit the England pacer for six and two fours in the over, with the second boundary bringing up the milestone.
Batting with aggression, the opener took on English bowlers. He took just 118 balls to bring up his hundred.
Resuming on his overnight score of 46, the Karnataka batsman helped steady Indian innings for a while with Ajinkya Rahane. The duo posted 118-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
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But India lost two wickets in two overs, Rahane (37) in the 36th to Moeen Ali and debutant Hanuma Vihari (0) in the next over to Stokes.
He, however, found a partner in Rishab Pant, and they were in the act of rebuilding the innings, with a hope to save the match.
Rahul now has the second highest score by an Indian opener in the fourth innings of a Test in England, behind legendary Sunil Gavaskar's 221 at the same venue in 1979.
In a disappointing series, Rahul has failed to impress with his batting. He has scores of 4 & 13 in Edgbaston, 8 & 10 at Lord's, 23 & 36 at Trent Bridge, 19 & 0 at the Rose Bowl and 37 in the first innings of the match.
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Here's the list of his previous hundreds: 110 vs Australia in Sydney, 2015; 108 vs Sri Lanka in Colombo, 2015; 158 vs the West Indies in Kingston and 2016; 199 vs England in Chennai, 2016
India were set an improbable target of 464 by England. The hosts have already won the five-match series, thanks to wins at Edgbaston, Lord's and the Rose Bowl. India won the Trent Bridge match.
At Lunch, India were 167-5, still needing another 297 runs to pull off an improbable win. Rahul (108) and Pant (12) were unbeaten.
