India’s hopes of levelling the ongoing five-match Test series in England are in danger as the hosts ended Day 4 of the final Test at The Oval on 339 for 6, needing just 35 more runs to win. Shubman Gill and his men are now on the verge of suffering a 1-3 defeat in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
However, after play ended on Day 4, commentator and cricket expert Harsha Bhogle summed up the series with a tennis analogy while speaking on Sony Sports Network. He said: “It is a bit like a tennis score. Isn’t it? That one team has won more games, the other has won more sets. If you add up all games, it is a bit like that. A strange one this.”
In response, former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar agreed, but stressed the importance of the final outcome. “It is. You could say that. But at at end of the day, it is the result that matters. Unless India win this game and level the series. You will have to say that England were the better team.”
England looked set for a comfortable win after centuries from Joe Root (105 off 152) and Harry Brook (111 off 98), which brought them within touching distance of victory. However, India bounced back post-tea. Prasidh Krishna dismissed Jacob Bethell and later Root, who had just brought up his 39th Test century—his 13th against India and third in this series.
Bad light and a passing shower forced early stumps, leaving Jamie Overton and Jamie Smith unbeaten at the crease. India will now look for a miracle on Day 5, as they must defend 35 runs with just four wickets to take in order to claim victory.
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