BBC SPORT | Cricket | England | England retain hope of draw

Third Test, Headingley, day four (stumps): England 273 and 239-4; India 628-8 dec

India will need an early wicket on Monday to prevent their frustration boiling over as Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart used their ample experience to keep the tourists at bay.

At tea, England's position looked utterly desperate, four wickets down already in their second innings and four sessions left to play.

But Hussain (90 not out) and Stewart (40 not out) have gelled admirably well, remaining patient when required and attacking when necessary.

Together they have added 91, bringing England to within 116 runs of making India bat again.

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India's teenage wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel will not sleep well, however.

He dropped Hussain just before tea before the batsman had reached 50 and also missed a stumping to remove Stewart.

With Robert Key, Mark Butcher and John Crawley all falling in the afternoon session, they had seemed to have a nigh-on impossible task on their hands.

Sanjay Bangar took two vital wickets

Anil Kumble took England's final first innings wicket within the first quarter of an hour's play. Stewart was left stranded on 78 when Matthew Hoggard was given out.

Although the ball brushed armguard rather than glove on the way to short leg via Hoggard's pad, umpire Dave Orchard gave the Yorkshireman out.

England were 355 runs behind when they started again, and Key lost opening partner Michael Vaughan before lunch when Ajit Agarkar jagged one into his pads.

Sanjay Bangar may have removed Butcher almost immediately had Sourav Ganguly installed a short leg.

But after Kumble had Key lbw early in the second session for 34, Bangar had his revenge on Butcher.

After bowling two balls at the left-hander that swung into him, he then moved one the other way and Butcher, on 42, edged his drive straight to first slip.

It was Bangar who got the last wicket to fall before tea as Crawley's poor match continued.

To be fair on the Hampshire batsman, the ball which dismissed him stopped slightly on the pitch and Crawley could only stab it to cover.

England: RWT Key, MP Vaughan, MA Butcher, N Hussain, JP Crawley, AJ Stewart, A Flintoff, AJ Tudor, AF Giles, AR Caddick, MJ Hoggard.

India: SC Ganguly (capt), V Sehwag, RS Dravid, S Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, AB Agarkar, PA Patel (wkt), Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, S Bangar, A Kumble.

Umpires: DL Orchard (SA) & A de Silva (SL)

Third Umpire: P Willey

Match referee: CH Lloyd (WI).