India 191 (Thakur 57, Kohli 50, Woakes 4-55) and 466 (Rohit 127, Pujara 61, Thakur 60, Pant 50, Woakes 3-83) beat England 290 (Pope 81, Woakes 50, Umesh 3-76) and 210 (Hameed 63, Burns 50, Umesh 3-60) by 157 runs
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 their way 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.
Full report to follow…
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
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ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
