The fourth test match between England and India is all set for an exciting finale. After getting their tourists out bundled for a relatively low first-innings score of 191, hosts England would’ve sure fancied their chances of getting the game under their command. But a good burst of fast-bowling from Jasprit Bumrah (2/67) and Umesh Yadav (3/76) ensured that England walked away with a reasonable 99-run lead.
In all fairness, though, it was India’s splendid batting display in the third innings that really brought them back into the game. Rohit Sharma came up with a magnificent batting performance, compiling his maiden overseas test century (127) to firmly reclaim India’s grip on the game. He was ably assisted by batting contributions from Cheteshwar Pujara (61), Rishabh Pant (50), and ‘Lord’ Shardul Thakur (60)- who brought up his second half-century in this match- to set England an intimidating target of 368-runs.
India in the driver’s seat with a 368-run target
Despite the team putting up a rejuvenated batting performance in the second innings, India captain Virat Kohli doesn’t seem to be too pleased with how the match has gone so far. More specifically, Virat’s own efficiency with the bat has been a bit disappointing throughout this whole series. The Indian skipper is going through one of his longest century droughts; it has been close to two years now since he last reached the 100-run milestone in any format of the game.
But batting in the second innings, at one point, Virat looked quite well-set on the Surrey Oval wicket out there. He was timing his shots really well and looking in a really good rhythm to get to that coveted three-figure mark that has been eluding him for so long; only to experience a lapse in concentration for a brief moment and lose his wicket to Moeen Ali.
The manner of his dismissal was a bit embarrassing, and also somewhat concerning given how often he has got out in this fashion all through this series. Once again, it was a delivery drifting away from the off-stump; Kohli, in an attempt to defend, got a thick outside edge on the ball and handed an easy catch to Craig Overton at first slip. He ended his stay at the crease on 44, six runs short of a half-century.
Virat Kohli slams dressing room wall
Given how fine the batting conditions were while he was batting, Kohli felt really frustrated to have missed out on a good scoring opportunity. And his frustration was quite public too; while walking back to the dressing room, the cameras captured footage of the Indian captain banging his fist on the dressing room wall. Here’s the video:
https://twitter.com/virat_fanboyy/status/1434481522338271235?s=20
While he did punch the wall pretty hard, it doesn’t seem to have caused any injury to Kohli’s hand, for he did take the field for the final innings of the game. However, there is a chance that Virat Kohli might get reprimanded or even fined for his rude behavior; much like how his teammate KL Rahul was fined last night for expressing dissent at the umpire’s decision.
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As for the match, England are currently batting at 51/0 with both their openers playing cautiously. Joe Root and his teammates will be somewhat optimistic about their odds of saving or even possibly winning this match, given how improved the batting conditions have been in the last few sessions. Nonetheless, they will need to proceed with caution and patience. India, meanwhile, will be looking to be more aggressive and attacking with their fast-bowling this time around.
Brief scores: India 191 and 466 (Rohit 127, Pujara 61, Thakur 60, Woakes 3/83) lead England 290 and 51/0 (Haseeb Hameed 24, Burns 24) by 316 runs.
