Ind vs Eng 5th Test Day 4 preview: Cook eyes ton in his swansong innings

At the close of play on Day 3, England were 114/2, with a lead of 154 runs and 8 wickets in hands

On Day 4, Indian bowlers will look to put a spirited performance one last time in the 5^th and final match of Specsavers Test series at The Kia Oval in London. For his part, English opener Alastair Cook, playing the final innings of his international career, would look to make the game memorable by hitting his 33^rd hundred. At Stumps on Day 3, the Oval did break into raptures as Cook walked back undefeated.

For the English fan, this match is special not only because it is the swansong international appearance for their hero, but also because their team is leading 3-1 in the test series and looking to close it handsomely with a 4-1 win. And, England seem right course, leading by 154 runs with 8 wickets in hand.

In the morning of the third day, England were pushed to the limits as Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari batted out of their skins. But England still ended up with a lead of 40. And from there on, they have managed to battle India's pace trio to sneak well ahead in this game.

 

Ravindra Jadeja's 86 helped India emerge from the ruins

Ravindra Jadeja's unbeaten 86 helped India narrow the gap on the third day of the fifth Test as India finished their first innings at 292, conceding a 40-run lead. The left-hander faced 156 balls and hit 11 fours and a six. After lunch, India tried to extend their innings as long as possible. But Ishant Sharma (4) fell in the fourth over after the break, caught behind off Moeen Ali (2-50). At the other end, Adil Rashid (1-19) dismissed Mohammed Shami (1) who again tried to hit out instead of putting a price on his wicket.

The innings of Jasprit Bumrah (0) was hardly better. But he batted 14 deliveries, allowing Jadeja to smash the ball around. In doing so, he put on 32 runs for the tenth and final wicket. Jadeja reached his ninth Test half-century off 113 balls, after India crossed 250 in the 84th over. England were so flustered that they took the new ball in hope of dismissing the last wicket quickly.

But Jadeja had different plan, he abstained from taking singles of first 3 balls of an over and when boundary riders were brought in to save the singles, Jadeja used the long handle to get the most from an over. He did manage to to take singles off the last ball in 3 consecutive overs.  The partnership, and India's innings, ended with a run-out in the 95th over, though Jadeja finished unbeaten. Check Oval Test Day 3 highlights here
 

Alastair Cook Farewell Test
 
The 33-year-old Cook, who will bat one last time today, has played 161 Tests (current test match is not included) and scored 12,254 runs at an average of 44.88 with 32 hundreds and 56 half centuries. His highest Test score of 294 came against India at Birmingham during the 2011 series.  One of the high points of his captaincy will certainly be leading England to a 2-1 series win against India in India back in 2012. He successfully used spin duo of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar during that series. Not just captaincy, Cook also excelled with the bat during the 2012 series, scoring 176 at Motera, 122 at Mumbai and 190 at Kolkata. Cook scored 2,330 runs against India in 54 innings with an average of 46.60. He smashed 6 centuries and 9 half century against Indian cricket team.
 
Why India failed to win crucial moments in Specsavers test series, Gilchrist has the answer

India have quality batsmen and bowlers in the team but need to be mentally stronger to win a Test series abroad, Australian great Adam Gilchrist said. India have lost the ODI series and are battling to save the fifth match of the Test series, in which they have already conceded an unassailable lead. "It is challenging playing overseas. I do believe India have a strong bowling unit and some quality batsmen, including the best batsmen in the world, Virat Kohli. They have the potential to win overseas, perhaps it is just mind more than the body," Gilchrist told PTI
 
Statistics at the Kia Oval

•  Average 1^st innings score: 349
• Average 2^nd innings score: 306
• Average 3^rd innings score: 233
• Average 4^th innings score: 151
• Highest Total: 903/7 (335.2 Overs) by England vs Australia
• Lowest Total: 44/10 (26 Overs) by Australia vs England
• Highest chased: 263/9 (66.5 Overs) by England vs Australia
• Lowest defended: 77/10 (55 Overs) England vs Australia

 

Key Stats after the end of Day 3 of Oval Test

• Hanuma Vihari becomes the 26th Indian batsmen to score 50-plus in debut innings in Tests. Hanuman Vihari (56) is the eighth Indian to accomplish the feat against England.
•  86 runs scored by Ravindra Jadeja-- his highest in the overseas test and his second highest after the 90 he scored against England at Mohali in 2016-17. Of his 9 fifties, four have come against England
• Ravindra Jadeja (86 not out + 4/79) is the third Indian all-rounder after Vinoo Mankad (72,5/196 = 184 at Lord's, 1952) and Kapil Dev (5/125,41 89 + 3/43 at Lord's, 1982) to score 75 or more in an innings in a Test match against England in England
• Average of 17.72 registered by Keaton Jennings while scoring 319 runs in 18 innings at home -- the lowest by any batsman in Tests at home (minimum 18 innings), beating the 18.19 by Sri Lankan Sidath Wettimuny, who scored 382 runs in 21 innings.

 

Here is the playing 11 of both the teams:

 

 

India playing 11: Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah

 

 

England playing 11: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
 

India vs England 5th Test details

 

Match Date: 7 September- 11 September, Friday

Match Time: 15:30 IST, 10:00 AM GMT, 11:00 AM LOCAL

Match Venue: The Oval, London, England.

 

India vs England 5th Test match live streaming details

 

India vs England 5th Test match will be broadcast on Sony Six, Sony Six HD in English Commentary. India vs England fourth Test match will be available for live streaming on Sony Liv app. Tatasky subscribers can also live stream India vs England 4th Test match on Tatasky mobile app.

 

India vs England head to head in test matches

 

Total
 

Matches played: 121

India won: 25

England won: 46

Drawn: 49

 

In England

 

Matches played: 61

India won: 7

England won: 33

Drawn: 21

 

England squad: Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Chris Woakes, James Vince, Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, Alastair Cook, Jos Buttler and Adil Rashid.

 

India squad: Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant(wk), Ajinkya Rahane, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Ishant Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Prithwi Shaw and Hanuma Vihari.