England will need seven wickets on the final day to wrap up the five-match series against India with a thumping 4-1 margin. At stumps on day four, India were 58 for 3 , still needing an improbable 406 runs to win the game.
India began their chase of 464 in the worst possible manner. Even by the time the audience could settle down after seeing a masterclass from Alastair Cook and Joe Root, India lost Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli. The early breakthroughs saw India reduce to 2 for 3.
KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane then steadied the ship with an unbeaten 56-run stand before the day ended.
Earlier in the day, centuries from retiring Alastair Cook and skipper Joe Root propelled England to a massive 423 for 8 as the hosts set a mammoth 464-run target.
Starting the day on 114 for 2, England were firmly in the driver’s seat. The duo especially Cook found fifties regularly in the first hour to settle down. He took only two deliveries to reach the half-century on Monday morning. And in the process, he became only the second batsmen to register fifty-plus scores in both innings of his first and last Tests.
On the other hand, Root was also rotating the strike on consistent basis, thus not allowing the Indian bowlers to settle down. Cook also went above Kumar Sangakkara in the all-time leading scorers in Tests after crossing the 76-run mark.
Ishant Sharma hobbling off the field with an ankle injury further worsened things for India. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja failed to make much of an impact as Cook and Root sent India on a leather hunt.
Both the batsmen went on to compile fine centuries to put the game all but beyond India’s reach. Hanuma Vihari ended the mammoth 259-run stand by dismissing Cook for 147. On the very next delivery, the debutant accounted for Root who scored 125. England kept on losing wickets at regular intervals from thereon before declaring on 423.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the the day’s play:
Good Night India …
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) September 10, 2018
No, today’s play isn’t a reflection of how India played in this series. Played much better than this.
But let’s also accept that the scoreline will ‘rightly’ reflect where and how things went wrong…being delusional will only stall progress. #EngvInd— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 10, 2018
England fans at The Oval singing to the Indian fans "can we play you every week" #ENGvIND #Cricket
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) September 10, 2018
Like the clarity in Ajinkya's and specially Rahul's innings so far. Getting ready early in their set-up and hence the footwork. A little late in the series but better late than never #ENGvIND
— Deep Dasgupta (@DeepDasgupta7) September 10, 2018
Retire when people ask why, not when.. #ENGvIND
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) September 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/JSingh20_/status/1039194874929733634
Man playing his first Test dismisses man playing his last Test #ENGvIND
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) September 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/Dhawan025/status/1039135333231808515
Uncharacteristic dismissal for Kohli (only been caught behind twice in 20 innings here) Been carrying India for the entire series, been very disciplined and just let his resolve slip a moment.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 10, 2018
Think India is so done with this tour,can we have the Asia Cup already? #ENGvIND
— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) September 10, 2018
Don't Be Angry Guys. Soon Team India Will Organise A Series With Sri Lanka And Our Batsmen And Coach Will Show What They're Capable Of. #INDvsENG #INDvENG #ENGvIND #INDvENG
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) September 10, 2018
Virat Kohli played 48 false shots against James Anderson this series, none of them bringing a wicket. Only once in the CricViz database has a bowler drawn more false shots from someone in a series without dismissing them; Harbhajan Singh bowling to Hashim Amla, in 2010. #ENGvIND
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) September 10, 2018
RT If You Want Anil Kumble Back In Place Of Ravi Shastri. Enough! #INDvENG #ENGvIND
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) September 10, 2018
Indian batsmen to English bowlers. #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/0fWrhyqkUJ
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) September 10, 2018
Shikhar Dhawan's Best Performances on this tour!! #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/7GRIJFPldP
— Chandler Bing (@SarcasmChamp) September 10, 2018
Pic1: How English Batsmen Score Century
Pic2: How Our Batsmen Score Century#INDvENG #ENGvIND #INDvsENG #ENGvsIND pic.twitter.com/knra2zijvu— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) September 10, 2018
"What do you see in current India team which u never saw?"
Shastri: Unity! See the unity.. Dhawan getting out cheaply just to make Vijay feel that his place isn't completely in danger. We maintain the bro code. #EngvInd
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) September 10, 2018
Another big defeat coming up. 4-1 is not indicative of a competitive series. No point in saying it could have been the other way. It wasn't and clearly England played the big moments better. Serious problems with the top 3 in the batting . #ENGvIND
— Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) September 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/ViratsFangirl18/status/1039186316208926720
Kohli ends the series without being dismissed even once by Anderson #ENGvIND
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) September 10, 2018
Take a bow Alastair Cook,quite a farewell.. #EngvInd
— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) September 10, 2018
Virat Kohli's three Golden Ducks in Tests have come at Melbourne (2011), Lord's (2014) & The Oval (2018)#EngvInd
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) September 10, 2018
The good news for Indian players is that they next play #WestIndies at home … The bad news for Indian Cricket is that they next play #WestIndies at home. #ENGvIND #INDvWI
— Mikkhail Vaswani (@MikkhailVaswani) September 10, 2018
Root’s got a century too. Indian bowling hasn’t looked so pedestrian in a long long time. Ishant sorely missed. Waiting for the declaration…. #EngvInd
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 10, 2018
Ravi Shastri, in the post lunch session. #EngvInd pic.twitter.com/gto7bgTAZZ
— Karan Talwar (@BollywoodGandu) September 10, 2018
Dhawan after 1 over #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/ECk5z6rQVI
— Rishabh Srivastava (@AskRishabh) September 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/ImNsamy/status/1039184472153964544
What Ravi Shastri said, "This is the best touring side from India in the last 15 years".#ENGvIND
What Ravi Shastri meant: pic.twitter.com/hUCrd1PRoI
— RS (@AwaraRish) September 10, 2018
Bloody hell! Cook 100!
Script written!
Fairytale ending!
Richly deserved having had to face a brand new Duke’s ball for 12yrs!
BRAVO ??
— Kevin Pietersen? (@KP24) September 10, 2018