Rishabh Pant registered his first half-century of the series while Shardul Thakur scored his second in the match to take India to a huge score.
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The fourth Test match between England and India is finely poised for a dramatic ending on Day 5. The two nations are currently facing each other in a five-match Test series. The series is level at 1-1 at the moment. India won the Lord’s Test and England won the Leeds Test. The visitors were bowled for a below-par total in the first innings but they fought back handsomely in the second. India scored 466 runs and set a massive target of 368 for the hosts. In reply, the English batters have played sensibly so far as they have scored 77 runs without losing a single wicket. The game seems finely poised, with both sides in a good position to win the match. The Three Lions need 291 runs on the final day to win the match and take an unbeatable lead in the series.
The star batters of the day were wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and Shardul Thakur. After the heroics from the likes of Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara on Day 3, the Indian middle-order did find itself in a bit of a soup. Skipper Virat Kohli made 44 runs but that is not enough for a player of his caliber. Ravindra Jadeja was dismissed before he could reach the 20-run mark and Ajnkya Rahane had yet another day to forget as he was dismissed for a duck. His place in the Indian Test side will be in serious peril if he does not perform in the fifth Test.
Rishabh Pant was one of the players in the squad whose position was in question judging on his performance in the series. However, the young wicketkeeper certainly redeemed himself on the day as he scored his first half-century of the series. He made 50 runs off 106 deliveries. Shardul, on the other hand, scored his second half-century of the match as he made 60 runs. It was a quickfire knock as it took him only 72 deliveries. Tail-enders Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav also made useful contributions of 25 and 24 respectively.
The overall bowling display of the English bowlers in the second Indian innings was not exactly one to remember, but every single one got at least one wicket. Chris Woakes was the pick of the bowlers as he bagged three wickets. Ollie Robinson and Moeen Ali picked a couple of wickets each. James Anderson, Craig Overton, and skipper Joe Root picked one wicket each.
Batting in their second innings, the Three Lions got off to a strong start in their run-chase as they made 77 runs without losing a single wicket. Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed are the two English batters currently in the middle. Burns has made 31 runs off 109 deliveries and Hameed has made 43 runs off 85 deliveries. Kohli has so far used four bowlers in the Indian attack. They are Yadav, Bumrah, Jadeja, and Mohammad Siraj. Day 5 could see Shardul Thakur into the fray as well. One thing that will be certain is that both teams will throw everything to win the match, which will make it a feisty encounter on the final day.
