Yuvraj Singh on way to his 86 on the final day of the second Test in Mohali on Tuesday. (AFP)

Mohali: Cricket on the final day of the second Test here was more about achieving personal landmarks as the match meandered into a tame draw at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium on Tuesday.

The result suited India fine as it ensured a 1-0 series victory for them but for the sporadic crowd, which was hoping to watch some real action, it was sheer boredom — a poor advertisement for Test cricket after the fascinating contest in Chennai only a few days ago.

In the end, England, chasing an impossible target of 403 in 43 overs, were 64 for one when the two captains agreed to call off play around 4pm. Earlier, India (overnight 134 for four) declared their innings at 251 for seven, 10 overs after the lunch break.

Given the fact that two and a half hours of play was lost in the morning session due to dense fog, it was a foregone conclusion that neither team were in a position to force a result.

To add to it, the Indians batted for 10 more overs after lunch to make sure that a draw remained the only possibility.

At lunch, India had a lead of 367 runs but Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh were sent again, obviously, to complete their personal centuries.

While Gambhir then was on 80, Yuvraj was batting on a quickfire 79. The purpose, however, was defeated as neither of the two Indian batsmen could reach the three-figure mark. Yuvraj was the first to go, run out by Ian Bell on 86.

Gambhir was three runs away from scoring his second century of the match when Bell took a brilliant catch of Graeme Swann at backward point.

Asked what stopped him from declaring at lunch, the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said: “We saw the importance of Gauti (Gautam Gambhir) and Yuvraj’s (Singh) contribution in the match. We wanted them to score their centuries.

“One more reason was that when we started batting yesterday (Monday) evening, we were not sure about the fog. If we had gone after the bowlers right from the start and lost wickets thinking that it would be a 70-over game on the last day, and found that we had 98 overs then we would have been in a difficult situation,” Dhoni added.

Overall, weather played the spoilsport in the final Test. A total of 63 overs were lost in the first four days.

Earlier, Gambhir and Yuvraj shared a high-tempo 153-run partnership in 178 balls to bat England out of the match and strengthen India’s grip on the series.

Both Indian batsmen batted aggressively unlike Monday when the top-order played cautiously to deny England any chance of comeback.

Yuvraj’s three sixes were the feature of the hour-long morning session. He opened up by hoisting pace bowler James Anderson over midwicket.

He then clubbed Stuart Broad for two sixes in one over, first lofting him over wide mid-on and then over cover. His 93-ball knock contained four sixes and six boundaries — pure entertainment for the small crowd.

Gambhir, who made amazing strides as a Test cricketer this season, hit six boundaries from 229 deliveries and became India’s top run-scorer in a single Test match against England when he reached 78. The Delhi left-hander was adjudged the Man of the Match.

Zaheer Khan, who was outstanding with the old ball, was adjudged the Man of the Series.

Adding to his 179 runs in the first innings, Gambhir scored a total of 276 runs in the Test match, surpassing Vinoo Mankad’s record of 256 in the two innings at Lord’s in 1952 — a wonderful way to end an eventful year for the dashing Delhi opener.