AUS VS ENG - 4th Test, The Ashes, 2021-22

And then, there's Jonny Bairstow. Often the scapegoat in red-ball cricket, largely victimised for carrying white-ball technical anatomy and then the musical-chair with his wicket-keeping duties. He was in fact England's second best player during the last Ashes in Australia, but had to wait two Tests to get an opportunity this time around. Jonny notched up a counter-attacking hundred which saw Lyon decimated to all corners, ultimately lifting the spirits of his side, erasing the threat of a follow-on in the first innings to facing second-most deliveries in the dying moments of the game. It is almost criminal, of course, to not mention the glass-wiping, game-tilting efforts of Lord Leach. Mighty good!! On that bustling note, this is Raju Peethala waving goodbye alongside Ramakrishnan MS, Sagar Chawla and the scoring-supremo Mukesh Gowda. See you soon!!

Irrespective of the outcome, Test matches - more often than not - are an amalgamation of heart-warming stories. Almost 11 years ago, a certain Usman Khawaja - touted as the next Ricky Ponting at the time - kickstarted his international career at this venue and, given what transpired in the last couple of years, very few gave him a chance to make a comeback after being sidelined from the national side. He believed, knocked the selection doors with consistent runs in Sheffield Shield and when the opportunity arrived, he became only the third (alongside Doug Walters and Ricky Ponting) player in history of Test cricket to compile twin hundreds at the SCG. He might or not play the next Test, but none can take away those special memories, achieving something significant at your home ground, in front of the family.

Usman Khawaja | Player of the Match: We would have loved to win. Great fight from England. Test match cricket at its best, down to wire, couldn't ask for more. Didn't feel like I was batting at a different level to the others. I thought Smith was batting beautifully. He was smacking them and I thought lets get a partnership. 300 was a good first innings score. I am enjoying the game. Lots of ups and downs. I can go out there and get two ducks in the next game. That's how it is. A hard game. Lots of cricket coming up. Fingers crossed to stay healthy and keep doing the work. We couldn't have asked for more in this series. Everything counts in the WTC.

Pat Cummins: Great game of Test cricket. We got close. Bit less weather might have got us there. Obviously would've loved 4-0, but good match. The forecasts are hopeless, I learnt that this week. Getting close to 400, I felt we needed that. The wicket wasn't playing too many tricks. And I thought there was enough time. Smith did the vice-captain thing and said I will bowl (laughs). Bit of a running joke in the team that they should have a bowl-off to see who the No.1 leggie is in the team (Smith and Marnus).

Joe Root: It was really important (to play this sort of a gem). Has been a difficult tour. Tough at times but one thing I am proud of is the determination and character of the team and find way to get a draw out of this game. I said after the last game try and put some pride in the badge and give something for the blokes back home to take. Bairstow and Stokes were outstanding. Number of guys have had difficult injuries. We turn up next week and hopefully go one step better. Should stand up well if he (Crawley) can find a couple of good innings going. He is a top player. Jos Buttler is going home after this game, it's quite a bad injury. Real disappointment and shame to not have him at Hobart. The way he stood up for the team shows his character.

Stokes and Bairstow continued their first-innings association and looked set to block out the entire session until Lyon decided to have his bunny, Stokes, for the third time this series. Soon after the introduction of new ball, England lost Buttler and Wood in quick succesion and it needed two vital partnerships (Bairstow-Leach and Leach-Broad) to get them closer to the safer territory. There was a glimmer of a hope - for both teams - with fading light and fighting tail-enders, but in the end, the wily James Anderson negated Smith's final over to draw curtains on a fantastic final day's theatre at the SCG. Presentations imminent, stay tuned...

18:53 Local Time, 07:53 GMT, 13:23 IST: Sigh! Test cricket - you undisputed beast. Smiles all around as the players shake hands before heading back to the dressing room. Not plenty of emotions from Jimmy, but a cheeky smile, he's done the job and will be mighty pleased as he trundles back with his best mate Broad. It's very easy to say that England might consider this draw as a win, but you gotta doff your hat off to each and every player involved in this heck of Test match that ebbed and flowed to all extremes in the last session of the last day of the game. Australia needed 6 wickets in the final session and they gave it all with the ball to take the game to knife's edge. And boy, did they nearly pull it off?

Smith to Anderson, no run, the World's most experienced number 11 survives. England survive and it's a well-deserved draw. Anderson gets a gentle leggie outside off and he taps it away with a silky smooth open bat face

One ball to go... Stokes covers his face with his shirt. He doesn't want to watch!

Smith to Anderson, no run, floated up just outside off, Anderson presses forward and blocks

Ben Stokes hides his face with his hands. He can't watch this

Smith to Anderson, no run, fuller on off, Anderson gets across and defends solidly

England players look on anxiously from the sidelines...Khawaja walks up to Smith to have a chat

Smith to Anderson, no run, full and just outside off, Anderson opens the bat face and taps it towards silly point

Smith to Anderson, no run, full on off, Anderson prods forward and jams it down with full face of the bat

Smith to Anderson, no run, spins in onto the pads, Anderson goes back and turns it away into the leg-side

6 balls to go. The World's most experienced number 11 to bat. Can he survive?

Lyon to Broad, no run, fuller on off, Broad presses forward and defends to Labuschagne at silly point

Lyon to Broad, no run, tossed up on off, Broad gets forward and offers a dead bat

Lyon to Broad, no run, full on middle and leg, played back to the bowler