India vs England 2021, 1st Test: Day 4 – India Have Huge Task For The Final Day

Despite the hosts India made strong fight back, the visitors England ended the fourth day of the Chennai Test with a upper hand.

Starting the day on their overnight score of 257/6, India were all out on 337 runs in their first innings. Though the hosts were 42 runs short from the follow-on, the visitors decided to not enforce the hosts to follow-on rather than chose to bat again.

While England were bundled out for 178 runs in their second innings, they set up the 420 runs target for the hosts. At the stumps of the day, India scored 39/1 as they are 381 runs away from the target.

India vs England 2021, 1st Test: Day 4 – Washington Sundar’s fighting 85 not out helped India to score 337 runs

Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin set up the crucial 80 runs partnership for the seventh wicket. Though Ashwin lost his wicket for 31 runs as Jack Leach took his first wicket of the match, Sundar continued his fight and complete his half-century. While India were all-out just some minutes before the lunch break, Sundar remained not out on 85 runs.

On that morning session, Jack Leach and James Anderson picked up two wickets each.

India vs England 2021, 1st Test: Day 4 – Ravichandran Ashwin dominated during England’s second innings

On the first delivery of England’s second innings, Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed the opener Rory Burns for a golden duck. At lunch England were batting on 9/1.

Captain Joe Root once again fought in that second innings as he was the only player in that innings to cross 30 runs. After scoring 40 off 32 balls, Root lost his wicket as Jasprit Bumrah picked up that wicket.

Earlier, the tall pacer Ishant Sharma completed his 300 Test wickets after dismissing Dan Lawrence (18).

Middle-order batsmen Ollie Pope (28), Jos Buttler (24) and Dom Bess (25) were the only other batters to reach the 20-run marks in that innings. While Shahbaz Nadeem got the wickets of Pope and Buttler, Ashwin took all other remaining wickets in that innings. Ashwin finished that innings with the bowling figures of 17.3-2-61-6.

India vs England 2021, 1st Test: Day 4 – Rohit Sharma lost his wicket at early chasing

Chasing down the 420 runs target in the late moment of the fourth day, India lost their opener Rohit Sharma as Jack Leach bowled him for 12 runs. At the stumps of the day, another opener Shubman Gill scored 15 not out while Cheteshwar Pujara scored 12 not out.

Brief Scores: England – 578 (Joe Root 218, Dom Sibley 87; Jasprit Bumrah 3/84) & 178 (Joe Root 40, Ollie Pope 28; Ravichandran Ashwin 6/61)

India – 337 (Rishabh Pant 91, Washington Sundar 85*; Dom Bess 4/76) & 39/1 (Shubman Gill 15*, Cheteshwar Pujara 12*; Jack Leach 1/21)