London: Shardul Thakur (60) struck his second half-century of the match sharing a 100- run stand with Rishabh Pant (50) powering India to take a hefty 367-run lead in their second innings as the visitors were 466 all out on the penultimate day of the fourth Test at the Oval on Sunday.
In reply, Rory Burns (31 not out) and Haseeb Hameed (43 not out) got England off to a terrific start as England are 77 without loss at stumps still needing 291 runs to win the match. Resuming the day at 270/3, India lost three wickets in the morning session including skipper Virat Kohli (44).
Chris Woakes removed Ravindra Jadeja (17) as well as Ajinkya Rahane (0) as England looked all set to wrap up the tail quickly to ensure that they do not chase down a huge total.
However, Shardul joined Pant in the middle turning the tide towards India as both of them counter-attacked the opposition bowlers squeezing runs in a good flow. Shardul played a rather contrasting knock to the one he played in the first innings but still, it was innings of good pace.
Shardul was set for an unlikely big knock before skipper Joe Root removed him denying further damage for the hosts. Pant too got dismissed shortly after that. Handy contributions down the order from Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah ensured that India throw England a challenging target.
England bowlers on the other hand had to toil hard for wickets although Woakes (3/83) did make his mark while James Anderson was unable to impose any sort of threat. With all the wickets still in hand, England have high hopes for chasing down the target and it will be interesting how India approach the game on the final day considering the pitch that has gone flatter as the match has progressed.
Brief Scores: India 191 & 466 (Rohit Sharma 127, Cheteshwar Pujara 61; Chris Woakes 3/83, Olie Robinson 2/105) vs England 290 & 77/0 (Haseeb Hameed 43*, Rory Burns 31*). England need 291 runs to win.
