India and England continue to battle it out in the fourth Test at The Oval. On Day 4, India continued with the same momentum, piling pressure on England.
On Sunday, India continued to stay on top against England on Day 4 of the fourth Test at The Oval in London. The visitor was bowled out for 466, handing England a target of 368, while the English openers ensured to curtail the lead down to 291 at stumps.
India was put to bat first and was dismissed for 191, while England came up with a solid reply to score 290. Since Day 2, India has been batting strong while it finished Day 3 on top, at 270/3.
Resuming at the overnight score, the Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja pair added 26 more before the latter was trapped leg-before for 17 by pacer Chris Woakes. At the same score, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed similarly by the same man for an unfortunate duck.
Although Kohli seemed to be going good, looking in good touch and flow, 18 runs later, at 312, he knicked it to Craig Overton at the slip off spinner Moeen Ali and departed for 44. Nevertheless, the pair of wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, and Shardul Thakur, took control for the remainder of the session, having contributed 17 before the lunch break kicked in at 329/6, leading by 230.
The post-lunch session went completely India's way, with the pair contributing to a 100-run stand for the seventh wicket. While Thakur scored his third Test half-century, Pant scored his seventh before falling for 60 and 50, respectively, to Joe Root and Moeen, while the score read 414/8.
In came a couple of new batsmen in the form of Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah. While England believed it would be an easy task to get rid of the tail, the two continued India's onslaught especially attacking Moeen, as they are unbeaten with a 31-run stand for the ninth wicket before the tea break kicked in at 445/8, with India leading by 346.
In the post-tea session, just five runs later, Bumrah fell for 24 to Woakes after handing it to Moeen at mid-wicket. While Yadav looked to continue the onslaught, he could not contribute longer, giving it to Moeen at mid-off off pacer Craig Overton, as India was shot out for 466, handing England a target of 368.
For England, six bowlers have been utilised. While pacers Woakes was the most successful of all, spinner Root has been the most economical.
As England came out for the chase, it was a premium start by the openers, with Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed putting up a 77-run stand. At stumps, India continued to lead by 291, while it would still be an uphill task for the host to register a historic win on the final day.
The Indians utilised four bowlers. While none of them has attained success in this innings, pacer Bumrah has been highly economical.
Brief scores: India 191 & 466 (Rohit- 127, Pujara- 61, Pant- 50, Thakur- 60; Woakes 3/83) leads England 290 & 77/0 (Hameed- 43*; Bumrah- 0/11) by 291 runs.
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