First came bad light, then rain, and with it the penultimate day of this epic Test series ended with the ultimate cliffhanger. England had seemingly been cruising to their target of 374, driven by sparkling centuries from Harry Brook and Joe Root, only for India to strike back and leave them six wickets down, 35 runs still required, when the players left the field.
And so despite looking like a dramatic fourth day would bring finality to the contest, this fifth Test decider now heads into the fifth day with everything still on the line.
England will resume in the morning hoping that Jamie Smith, last of the top seven batters, can guide them to a 3-1 series victory and Chris Woakes, dislocated left arm in a sling, is not required to bat.
India can still level the series at 2-2 – a share of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy – and, having slightly floundered during a 195-run fifth-wicket stand between Brook and Root, they had perhaps cause to feel most aggrieved when proceedings were paused at 5.30pm. The force was very much with them at this stage and England were scrapping for their lives.
While Brook’s remarkable 10th Test century had been terminated on 111 from 98 balls – bat flying out of his hand when top-edging Akash Deep into the ring – and Jacob Bethell lost his middle stump for five trying to break free from the shackles, it was the removal of Root for 105 to a feathered edge off Prasidh Krishna that sent England’s supporters into a tailspin.
The old ball had belatedly started to move for India’s quicks and, from 337 for six, Smith and Jamie Overton played out 20 balls of paralysis in which it felt like each one was either beating the bat or squirting off the inside edge. The Indian supporters, restless while Brook and Root were seemingly breaking the back of the chase, were suddenly the ones in full voice.
Most galling of all was that 30 minutes after play was abandoned at 6pm, the Oval was drenched in sunshine and the last remaining spectators were shouting words like “disgrace”. If nothing else, the overnight pause handed Smith and the tail time to reset, even if this also means facing a refreshed Indian attack first thing with the second new ball just 3.4 overs away.
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