4th Test, The Oval, Sep 2 - 6 2021, India tour of England

Scorecard & Highlights

Day 1

India were bowled out cheaply on the first day for the second Test in a row but retained a foothold after taking three England wickets in the late-afternoon sunshine at The Oval.

Chris Woakes - playing a first-class game for the first time since August 2020 after missing 11 Tests through isolation, rotation and injury - took four wickets and Ollie Robinson continued his fine summer with three, with England's seamers relentless in reducing India to 127 for 7.

Most of India's batters had made starts before being dismissed - Virat Kohli played fluently for 50 before falling to Robinson for the third consecutive Test - but Shardul Thakur's 57 off 36 balls changed the complexion of their innings. He teed off from No. 8 after being recalled to the side, and his half-century - the fastest recorded in a Test in England - gave India something to bowl at.

England had chosen to bowl after winning the toss in overcast conditions but were basking in hazy sunshine by the time their openers headed out midway through the final session. But three late wickets - both openers falling to Jasprit Bumrah and Joe Root castled by Umesh Yadav - left them teetering at 53 for 3 by the close.

Much of England's early success came from bowling dry. They had initially struggled to find swing with the lacquer still on the new ball - James Anderson conceded 20 in his first four overs and was punished for overpitching - but Robinson and Woakes rarely erred from a good length and strung together seven consecutive maidens with the score on 28.

Those maidens included the dismissals of both openers. Woakes, back to fitness after a freak heel injury suffering slipping down a flight of stairs, had the ball swinging immediately and induced an outside edge; Rohit Sharma had been leaving fuller balls, but Woakes dragged his length back and had him caught behind by Jonny Bairstow, keeping wicket with Jos Buttler absent on paternity leave.

And after an immaculate new-ball spell, Robinson had KL Rahul trapped lbw with a nip-backer. The decision was upheld via the DRS but only thanks to Richard Illingworth's earlier on-field call; Rahul was nearly outside the line as he was hit on the back pad, but ball-tracking said umpire's call.

Anderson's second spell was a significant improvement, and he had Cheteshwar Pujara feathering an edge behind to Bairstow. Kohli looked in fine touch earlier on, but the main talking point over the lunch interval was the promotion of Ravindra Jadeja to No. 5 - seemingly to break up the run of right-hand batters in India's middle order.

Kohli was given a life on 22 by Root, who put down a chance at first slip off Woakes - though arguably Rory Burns, at second, should have gone for the catch to his left, since Root saw it late and had to move a long way to his right. Root made amends of sorts in Woakes' next over, hanging onto another tough chance off Jadeja's outside edge, but Kohli's fluency was ominous for England.

Following on from a second-innings half-century in Leeds, Kohli adjusted his stance slightly, shuffling across towards his off stump, and drove with authority and timing. The pick of his shots, a drive on the up through extra cover off Anderson, brought him to 45, and he reached a second consecutive fifty off only 85 balls, but Robinson - his nemesis throughout this series - tied him down.

After soaking up 10 consecutive dot balls, Kohli was anxious to score and shaped to turn a length ball into the leg side, but Robinson's unerring line and length did not allow him to do so. Instead, he found a hint of nip away off the seam, taking Kohli's outside edge and leaving India reeling at 105 for 5.

Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant, both under pressure after poor tours, fell after contrasting innings: Rahane tentative throughout, steering Overton to third slip where Moeen Ali clung onto a low chance; Pant frenetic, skipping down to hack Woakes' slower ball to mid-off, three balls after Overton had put him down in the slips.

That left Thakur - brought back into the side with Mohammed Shami ruled out with a niggle, Ishant Sharma dropped and R Ashwin overlooked yet again - as the last batter of any note and he decided the only way to go was to attack. He swung hard, thumping Overton for six over mid-off and tucking into Woakes, smiting him for six fours and a six.

Thakur rode his luck throughout, dropped on 43 after gloving a pull to Bairstow and with several shots falling just short of fielders, but flat-batted Robinson back over his head for four then pulled his next ball for six to reach a 31-ball fifty - the second-fastest by an India batter - which he greeted with a triumphant roar. He was pinned by Woakes, out lbw on review, shortly after, before Bumrah was run out and Umesh Yadav edged behind as India lost their last three wickets in the space of four balls.

Bumrah blew the game back open by removing both England openers in the space of five balls, finding extra bounce from just short of a length. Rory Burns looked to play late but inside-edged onto his own stumps, and Haseeb Hameed's attempted back-cut only managed to divert a short ball into Pant's gloves.

Root and Dawid Malan rebuilt with some fluency from 6 for 2, punishing any width on either side of the wicket in a stand of 46 in 11.3 overs, but Root's dismissal late in the day - bowled by an inch-perfect nip-backer from Umesh, which beat his inside edge and kissed the top of his off stump - could yet prove to be a significant moment, keeping India in the game. Overton was sent in as nightwatchman and Ollie Pope, recalled in Buttler's place on his home ground, will be due in at No. 6.

Day 2

Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes made their first Test fifties in a year to give England a 99-run first-innings lead at The Oval before India's openers, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, almost halved the deficit by seeing out the second day.

England were teetering at 53 for 3 overnight, and lost two wickets for nine runs at the start of the day, but Pope's fluency in partnerships with Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali dragged them into the lead, and then Woakes - batting at No. 9 after England had used a nightwatchman - built on it by attacking the old ball.

Rohit and Rahul were tasked with facing the last 16 overs of the day in the late-afternoon haze and despite the occasional play-and-miss, and an outside edge from Rohit that flew past Rory Burns at second slip, they saw India through to stumps, only 56 runs behind their hosts.

Umesh Yadav had produced one of the balls of the series to bowl Joe Root late on the first evening and picked up where he left off with a probing spell on the second morning. He removed Craig Overton, the nightwatchman, with his fourth delivery of the day thanks to an ill-judged cut shot which flew straight to Virat Kohli at first slip, then had Dawid Malan edging to Rohit at second to leave England reeling at 62 for 5.

Bairstow and Pope quickly launched a counterattack as India's change bowlers, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur, struggled for consistency. Thakur leaked four consecutive boundaries (one via the pad) to Pope, and Siraj conceded three in a row with both batters scoring on either side of the wicket, adding 77 before lunch.

Bairstow's technical changes heading into this series - he is batting significantly further across his stumps than he did two years ago - may have resulted in him avoiding being bowled thus far but he has developed a vulnerability against the nip-backer, and was trapped lbw for the third time in the series: Siraj angled one in from a length which struck him on the pad, and the DRS confirmed the ball would have gone on to hit the top of leg stump.

Bairstow remonstrated with a steward after his dismissal, seemingly distracted by some movement in the stands, but Pope continued to score freely. He worked Siraj away for four to bring up a 92-ball fifty and made only a low proportion of runs through boundaries, instead rotating the strike and clipping and punching twos and threes.

Pope was widely hailed as England's most promising young batter when he made a brilliant maiden hundred in Port Elizabeth in early 2020 but has struggled in the 18 months since; he started this series out of the side following an injury but his poor form meant that he was not rushed back in when fit.

This was his first Test on his home ground, where he averages a shade over 100 in first-class cricket for Surrey, and his change back to a middle-stump guard appeared to pay dividends after spending most of the summer batting on off.

Moeen struggled for the same fluency but his innings was scattered with boundaries, the pick of them a punch through the covers off Umesh. He was given an unusual life early on, digging out a Jasprit Bumrah yorker which replays confirmed had struck his boot first and would have crashed into leg stump - India did not even appeal.

He gave his wicket away cheaply, aiming a hoick down the ground off Ravindra Jadeja which ballooned out to give Rohit a simple catch at cover. Pope fell for 81 shortly after tea, dragging a wide outswinger from Thakur onto his own stumps, and Jadeja bowled the slog-sweeping Ollie Robinson for 5 to leave England nine down.

But Woakes frustrated India, adding 35 with Anderson for the last wicket. He played with uncharacteristic attacking intent, flashing drives away through cover and pulling through the leg side, before running himself out while trying to marshal the strike.

England struggled to create chances with the new ball as Rohit and Rahul stood firm, though one opportunity went begging: Anderson found Rohit's outside edge but Burns failed to pick the ball up at second slip and watched it fly past him.

Day 3

It was worth the wait. Rohit Sharma's first Test hundred away from home took India into a dominant position against England at The Oval, leaving them well-placed to push for a 2-1 lead in the series.

Rohit shared partnerships of 83 and 153 for the first and second wicket with KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara, pressing on through the third morning after seeing out 16 overs on the second evening. He batted within himself for most of the day in gloomy, overcast conditions but moved from 94 to his hundred by swinging Moeen Ali for six over long-on.

He was eventually dismissed in bizarre fashion, heaving a pull straight to long leg when Ollie Robinson dug the second new ball into the pitch, and when Robinson had Pujara caught in the slips via an inside edge into his back thigh five balls later, England were back in the game. But Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja - retaining his spot at No. 5 - battled through before bad light brought an early close shortly before 5.45pm local time.

Rohit rode his luck at times, offering two chances to Rory Burns at second slip, but neither was taken. The first came on the second evening when he had made only six: he edged James Anderson into the cordon, but Burns appeared not to pick the ball up against the backdrop of the crowd and only realised it had come in his direction once it had brushed his foot on its way to the boundary.

The second came on 31, when Ollie Robinson had him poking defensively at a wide-ish ball on a good length. Third slip had been moved into the covers shortly before, meaning Burns had to fling himself to his right; he could only get a fingertip to it, pushing it down towards third man.

Anderson made the breakthrough shortly after Burns' second drop, inducing an outside edge from Rahul. Rahul had started brightly, driving Chris Woakes down the ground for four and pulling him for six, but England bowled dry to stem the flow of runs. Anderson found a hint of movement away off the seam as Rahul came forward to defend; the on-field decision was not out, but the DRS showed a healthy outside edge.

Rahul gestured to the umpires that he had flicked his back pad with his bat on the way through, but replays confirmed the ball had hit the bat after that. England reviewed an lbw appeal shortly before lunch with Rohit on 42, but DRS confirmed it was an optimistic shout.

Pujara started his innings brightly, admittedly helped by some loose bowling from England's change bowlers, but had to overcome an injury scare shortly after lunch. He rolled his ankle turning at the non-striker's end and underwent seven minutes of treatment from the physio with heavy strapping before resuming.

Rohit punched Craig Overton off the back foot for two to bring up his fifty and Pujara continued to bat fluently, cutting two boundaries in the space of three balls off Overton - the second a deft, late upper-cut over the vacant gully region. Rohit cruised through the 90s, pulling Anderson for four and then bringing up his hundred with a straight six, celebrating in restrained style.

Rohit's comparative struggles overseas compared to in India have often been used as a stick to beat him with but this was further proof that he is still one of the best all-format players in the world. This was his third 50+ score in the series and his eighth Test hundred in all - three of them brought up with a six.

Pujara brought up his own half-century - his second in three innings - by steering Overton away behind square after tea, as England tried out a short-ball strategy with the second new ball looming to no great effect. The crowd were subdued, with the partnership extending past 150 as Moeen and Root's offbreaks were milked.

But Robinson struck twice in the first over bowled with the new ball to change the complexion of the day and enliven the crowd. The first was an innocuous ball, a back-of-a-length loosener which hardly got up above waist-height, which Rohit inexplicably pulled straight to long leg; five balls later, Pujara was cramped for room playing off the back foot and inside-edged to third slip via the back thigh, given out on review.

Jadeja walked out to join Kohli, keeping his position at No. 5 after his surprise promotion in the first innings, and the pair saw India through to the close with Kohli again looking in superb form, creaming two cover drives away for four. They will resume with a lead of 171 on the fourth morning and while the pitch appears to have flattened out, India will be much the happier side overnight.

Day 4

Shardul Thakur and Rishabh Pant's half-centuries frustrated England and left them needing to complete their highest-ever run chase to take a 2-1 lead in the series, but an unbroken 77-run opening stand between Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed kept them in with a chance of pulling it off.

India resumed three wickets down with a lead of 171 on the fourth morning, and pressed on towards a significant third-innings total thanks primarily to Thakur and Pant's 100-run stand for the seventh wicket. They lost wickets in clusters but England's bowlers struggled to create regular chances on a flat Oval pitch and India's total of 466 was their highest in the second innings of a Test since 2009.

England's openers were tasked with seeing out 32 overs in the evening session and managed to do so with few concerns. Virat Kohli quickly turned to Ravindra Jadeja, who bowled 13 overs on the trot as he searched for the rough created by the seamers' footholes, but he struggled for consistency in his length. Burns was gritty and defensive but Hameed found some fluency, clipping boundaries off his pads and driving forcefully through the covers to leave England eyeing an improbable win.

Kohli and Jadeja - retaining his new role at No. 5 - resumed after seeing off the second new ball on the third evening and saw off James Anderson and Ollie Robinson's first spells with ease, Kohli pounding Anderson for four through the covers and punching Robinson through mid-off with a strong bottom hand to move into the 40s.

But Chris Woakes' first spell of the day brought two breakthroughs. His second ball was angled across Jadeja and defended into the off side, but both England and umpire Alex Wharf recognised that it had hit the knee roll of his pad first. Jadeja reviewed the decision, but the on-field call was upheld.

Three balls later, the out-of-form Ajinkya Rahane was pinned on the pad while shouldering arms to a nip-backer, but successfully reviewed Wharf's decision, with the DRS showing that it would have bounced over the top of the stumps.

Rahane had no such luck in Woakes' following over: he was set up perfectly, with Woakes gradually pushing his release point wider until Rahane played around another nip-backer that would have crashed into the top of his leg stump. His duck meant his Test average dipped below 40 for the first time in six years and his place will be under severe pressure in Manchester.

Kohli struggled to score as fluently in the second hour of the morning session, tied down by Woakes in particularly, and fell six runs short of his half-century as another England bowling change worked perfectly: Moeen Ali's sixth ball of the day drifted away, spun in and took the outside edge to give Craig Overton a straightforward catch at slip.

That left India leading by 211 runs with four second-innings wickets in hand and with their last two recognised batters at the crease in Pant and Thakur. Both men would have been tempted to play in their usual counter-attacking style but instead batted through to lunch with composure, as England burned their final review on a hopeful appeal for a bat-pad catch.

England toiled after lunch with little success. Moeen struggled for consistency, dropping short with regularity, and while Pant stayed within his shell, Thakur was more than happy to wait for the bad ball and pick off runs with controlled aggression.

Anderson and Robinson were both asked to bowl more than 30 overs in the innings and Thakur treated them with disdain, a straight six off Robinson's offcutter the pick of his shots before he brought up his second half-century of the match. There were occasional chances, with Moeen making a mess of a run-out opportunity and Pant surviving a tight lbw shout when attempting to reverse-sweep Anderson, but they brought up a 100-run stand after taking the lead beyond 300.

They fell within six balls of each other. Thakur was suckered into a drive outside off when Root brought himself on, and after bringing up a measured half-century, Pant skipped down the pitch to try and thump Moeen back over his head but only managed to offer a return catch. His reaction was one of self-flagellation, despondently dragging himself off after smacking his pad with his bat.

Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah had some fun either side of tea while keeping England's bowlers out in the dirt, hitting 25 and 24 respectively in quick time, but both were caught in the infield by Moeen as Woakes and Overton boosted their figures with late wickets. It left England with two hours to bat in the sunshine and facing a record chase.

But aside from one hopeful lbw appeal from Mohammed Siraj against Hameed, which was turned down both on the field and by the DRS, they struggled to create chances in the evening session. With four members of support staff self-isolating and two senior players in Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara off the field nursing niggles, Kohli will need to step up as captain on the final day.

Day 5

Jasprit Bumrah's devastating reverse-swing, Ravindra Jadeja's miserly spell into the rough and crucial breakthroughs from Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur took India into a 2-1 series lead against England, sealing a 157-run win that had seemed improbable for much of the fourth Test at The Oval.

India were 127 for 7 on the first afternoon, conceded a 99-run first-innings lead, and watched England's openers pile up an unbroken 100-run partnership on the final morning on a flat pitch offering almost nothing for their bowlers. But, after fine individual performances from Thakur and Rohit Sharma had forced them back into the game after the early obstacles, their attack split six wickets in 22.4 dramatic overs to turn the game decisively on the final afternoon, led by Bumrah's remarkable spell with the old ball.

India's task on the final day - take 10 wickets in 90 overs - was plain but hardly straightforward. They had opted to leave out their best spinner, R Ashwin, and the pitch had offered nothing for England's seamers in the second innings. But they succeeded where England had failed, rotating their attack with great effect, using Jadeja to rough up the old ball, and giving their seamers the opportunity to rip through the middle order with reverse-swing. Bumrah's high-class spell after lunch - 2 for 6 in six overs - was particularly crucial as he spearheaded a collapse of four wickets for six runs, and Umesh finished things off with the final two wickets after tea.

England started the day hopeful of pulling off an improbable fourth-innings run chase for the third summer in a row after wins against Australia and Pakistan in the last two years. Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed had both batted fluently on the fourth evening and brought up half-centuries and a 100-run opening partnership but Burns fell immediately after.

It was Thakur who made the first breakthrough. He had spoken to Sky Sports in their build-up to the final day, revealing India's optimism about the prospect of getting the ball to reverse thanks to Jadeja scuffing up one side bowling into the rough, and now he managed to move the old ball away from Burns' outside edge after angling it in from around the wicket. Rishabh Pant took a straightforward chance after a thin nick.

With Jadeja finding turn and bite from the rough outside Dawid Malan's off stump, England were bogged down. Hameed struggled to score against the seamers - he added only 19 runs to his overnight 43 while batting through the morning session - and with the prospect of victory still at the back of their minds, the pressure to score paid. Hameed nudged Jadeja into the covers and called Malan through for a single, but Mayank Agarwal - on as a sub fielder for Rohit - threw quickly and cleanly to Pant in time to beat Malan's dive.

Joe Root came out firing after lunch, reverse-sweeping the first ball of the afternoon session for four as if to warn Jadeja that landing the ball in the rough outside the right-handers' leg stump would not be enough. But Jadeja stuck to his guns, spinning one past Hameed's outside edge to peg his off stump back as he looked to guide a single to cover with an open face, and England never recovered.

Bumrah sensed an opening and began to reverse the ball prodigiously, moving it late, hitting speeds of 88mph/142kph and targeting the stumps. His full length and late tail was enough to burst through Ollie Pope's defence, angling in from wide on the crease and beating him on the inside edge. It was a fitting dismissal for his 100th in Tests, brought up in his 24th appearance to break Kapil Dev's record for fastest to the landmark by an Indian fast bowler.

Root survived a tight lbw appeal on review in the following over, DRS confirming Jadeja had pitched the ball outside leg stump, but Bumrah was purring and struck moments later. He beat Jonny Bairstow with the first ball of his over, full and reversing away, before turning it around on its axis and zipping it through him with a fast, in-ducking yorker two balls later. India were ecstatic, Kohli geeing the crowd up in celebration, and England's hopes were in tatters.

Kohli's explanation at the toss for Ashwin's continued omission was that Jadeja would provide him with a good match-up against England's left-handers, which prompted some confusion given Ashwin's record against them. But Jadeja's success vindicated his selection: he struck with the first ball he bowled to Moeen Ali, turning one sharply out of the rough created by the right-arm seamers and inducing a hard-handed poke away from the body, which gave Suryakumar Yadav - the other sub fielder - a simple catch at short leg. The slide was four wickets for six runs, enough to turn the game on its head.

India had time to take two more wickets before tea, including the crucial scalp of Root. Kohli opted to delay the second new ball, bringing Thakur back to bowl the 81st with the reversing old one, and an innocuous, back-of-a-length ball proved deadly: Root looked to run it down to third man, but inside-edged onto his stumps.

Craig Overton survived two tight calls, first dropped at third slip by Ajinkya Rahane, then successfully overturning an lbw decision given against him as Bumrah thudded one into his pad. But Woakes, who had looked solid for his 18, offered a low chance to KL Rahul at short midwicket to give Umesh Yadav his first wicket, and England were eight down at the interval.

India belatedly took the new ball shortly after tea and Umesh struck again, finding extra bounce from a length as Overton played on via the elbow, wincing in pain as he trudged off. James Anderson was the last man out, fending a catch behind to give Umesh a third that was given out on-field and upheld on review.

Kohli and India celebrated a fine win that had looked unlikely for large swathes of the match, completed despite the absence of their head coach, Ravi Shastri, and two injured senior players in Rohit and Cheteshwar Pujara being off the field through the final innings. England, by contrast, were left facing up to the prospect of consecutive series losses at home - unless they can square this one in Manchester - leading into an away Ashes this winter.