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India pulled off one of the great Test match victories at the Oval to rescue a 2-2 draw in the five-match series on Monday.
England went into the final day of 25 needing 35 runs with four wickets remaining to complete a remarkable chase of 374.
However, the hosts were unable to hold their nerve with the Indians bowling brilliantly to take the wickets of Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson and square the series.
There were heroic scenes as the injured Woakes made his way out to the crease with his arm in a sling.
Ultimately, he didn't face a ball with Atkinson clean bowled by Mohammed Siraj to bring the match and the series to an end.
Here Mail Sport's RICHARD GIBSON rates the performances of both sets of players over the series.
England
Zak Crawley - 5.5
Another series goes by and debate over the Kent opener’s position continues, yet with an average of 32 and just three 50s, he will head to Australia in November. 5.5
Ben Duckett - 9
A mid-series lag, but powered his team into a 1-0 lead in Leeds and has taken jet-heeled starts to another level.
Ollie Pope 6
That reputation for starting well but tailing off isn’t going away, making him another who heads to the Ashes with a question mark having over his head.
Joe Root - 9
Number one in the world for a reason. Just when you thought he couldn’t get any better, he nudges the bar a little higher.
Harry Brook - 9
A 99 followed by two hundreds, including the fourth-innings one at The Oval that set up the potential for an England chase of 374. Box office.
Ben Stokes - 8.5
England’s best bowler returned to form with the bat with a fine hundred before succumbing to injury in Manchester.
Jamie Smith - 8
Second in England’s batting averages, and kept tidily enough, although his body showed signs of wearying towards the end of the series.
Chris Woakes - 5.5
His fate at The Oval was cruel, but walking out with his arm in a sling could be his final act in Tests, following a modest time of it with bat and ball.
Brydon Carse - 6
Lacked the pizzazz of last winter, although there were still some fine spells belying an overall average in excess of 60, and his batting adds depth.
Josh Tongue - 7
Provides England with a point of difference as a tail removal expert, finishing as the most prolific home bowler despite appearing only three times.
Shoaib Bashir - 5
Claimed the match-winning wicket at Lord’s, before leaving the series with a broken finger, but the majority of his other nine victims were caught in the deep.
Jofra Archer - 7.5
Two major ticks for England’s returning fast bowler: his pace was mostly up in the high 80s in terms of miles per hour and the ability to play back-to-back matches suggested a robustness to his body.
Liam Dawson - 5.5
Provided Stokes with control in his first Test appearance in eight years, but the lack of wickets in the second innings told against him in selection for The Oval.
Gus Atkinson - 7.5
Classy return on his home ground, claiming match figures of eight for 160, and so nearly getting his team over the line on the fifth morning.
Jacob Bethell - 4
Came in cold for The Oval, after just one first-class appearance all summer, and it showed with two single figure scores and a lack of rhythm with the ball. 4
Jamie Overton - 4
Radar was off on his recall for the fifth match and although it improved, England would have wanted a greater output from the Surrey all-rounder.
India
Yashasvi Jaiswal - 7.5
Took his tally of hundreds against England to four with book-ending efforts in Leeds and London.
KL Rahul - 8
Played beautifully against the new ball in reaffirming what a versatile cricketer he has become.
Sai Sudharsan - 5
Failed to put his experience of English conditions into best use, constantly falling into Stokes’ leg side traps.
Shubman Gill - 9
Stacked up the second most runs by an Indian player in a Test series, leading from the front in his first series in charge.
Rishabh Pant - 8
Played either great courage, flair and skill before succumbing to a broken foot in the penultimate match.
Karun Nair - 6
Scratched out the runs rather than scoring fluently, but improved the slip cordon whenever picked.
Ravindra Jadeja - 8.5
A thorn in England’s side, passing 50 six times with the bat to compensate for a modest time with his left-arm spin.
Washington Sundar - 7.5
Kept the series alive with the Jadeja alliance in Manchester and changed pace to bash another 50 at The Oval, bowled well at times.
Dhruv Jurel - 6
Officially played only once, but kept tidily in six innings of the series because of Pant injuries.
Nitish Kumar Reddy - 5
Developing as an all-rounder and at the age of 22, his time will come.
Jasprit Bumrah - 7
It was an anomaly that India were more competitive in the two matches their attack spearhead missed.
Mohammed Siraj - 9
Lion-hearted, ever present whose efforts deservedly resulted in him securing the 2-2 result and finishing as the series’ leading wicket taker with 20.
Akash Deep - 6.5
Absolutely devastating at Edgbaston, where he bowled India to victory, but his threat receded, and his final three wickets cost almost 100 apiece. 6.5
Prasidh Krishna - 5.5
Took wickets, and tried to haul India back at the death, but his hemorrhaging of runs denied Gill control in the field.
Shardul Thakur - 4
Always a bad sign when a bowler is picked for his batting ability rather than what he does with the ball.
Andhul Kamboj - 3
Thrown a debut in Manchester when the wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav should have played.
