4th Test: Openers deny India early breakthrough as England chase 368 for victory | Cricket News – Times of India

And India’s tail batted on. And on. And the Oval was so flat, so meek and docile, and the London sun so bright, that past records of successful chases on this ground appeared redundant and Kohli’s men still didn’t feel safe. Partly this was also because the home bowlers were so unimaginative in the middle session and England lacked a quality spinner apart from Moeen Ali.
India’s 466-run second-innings effort ran England ragged in the field on Day 4, leaving Root’s men with the unenviable task of chasing 368. Openers Burns and Hameed then resolutely blunted the Indian attack for 32 overs to leave England 77 for no loss at stumps, justifying India’s decision to bat out time.
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These are flat conditions, without any hint of movement in the air or off the pitch, that might seem familiar to the Indian pacers. It was Ravindra Jadeja, though, who appeared to pose the big threat with the rough available outside the left-hander’s off-stump. Burns had some anxious moments against the left-arm spinner as a bevy of close-in fielders kept him pegged on the back foot.
Jadeja’s darts can acquire menace in even slightly helpful footmarks, but he will need to turn it consistently and land it in the perfect spot. Wouldn’t the more resourceful Ashwin have been a handful on the fifth day?

What England’s bowlers wouldn’t have given for a bit of cloud cover. In departing from the script of this fascinating Test, it wasn’t a day of dramatic ebbs and flows apart from a short pre-lunch period in which India’s big batting guns fell. India will take it, though: they worked hard to fashion a day of sedate consolidation, a necessity given the conditions. The idea was to bat through and break England’s back through sheer weight of runs.
India executed the plan to perfection, thanks to twin fifties from Shardul Thakur (a 60 to follow up his match-turning, first-innings 57), who continues to confound with his batting abilities and mature presence at the crease. This is not a tailender enjoying a few days of fluke runs with the bat, but a naturally gifted batsman who can be chiselled into a consistent contributor.

Thakur added 100 runs with Rishabh Pant, who finally found a prudent approach and a pleasing half-century. Pant seemed to have taken a leaf from the Rohit Sharma guidebook to trust his defence, leave more balls and play the waiting game before unleashing himself.
Perhaps for Pant, it was the presence of Kohli at the other end when he came in to bat that did the trick. India’s captain, incidentally, again failed to convert an impressive start into a big knock. He fell to the drifter from the seemingly innocuous and under-rated Moeen, who incidentally has now dismissed Kohli six times in Tests, just behind Anderson and Lyon.

While Kohli was seen venting his frustrations on the dressing room door, one wonders what state of mind Ajinkya Rahane is in. Demoted from his No. 5 spot, India’s sorely out-of-touch vice-captain survived an edgy eight balls and a DRS reprieve before falling for a duck, playing across the line to a straight delivery from Woakes.
With that, the slender thread by which Rahane’s career is hanging may have snapped. Can victory here spare him the inquisition?