The majority of the 15,000 full house in Nottingham had turned up to see such a possibility occurring for the first time in more than a decade.

But England's efforts were met with some stern resistance as Rahul Dravid made a hundred and Sachin Tendulkar and captain Sourav Ganguly both made scores in the 90s.

India's overnight duo of Tendulkar and Dravid set the tone and stood firm for the first 80 minutes of the final day.

Resuming on 99 for two and needing 161 further runs to make England bat again in the second Test of the four-match series, the tourists declared on 424 for eight, having batted for 95 overs on Monday.