Brilliant Team India Win At The Oval
Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
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By Slogger
First publised on 2021-09-07 06:43:11
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Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
View all posts by this Author
In a stupendous come-from-behind performance, India beat England by 157 runs in the 4th Test at the Oval after being bowled out for 191 runs in the first innings. The way the bowlers choked and bowled England out in the second innings was commendable after the batsmen, led by Rohit Sharma, had put before the hosts the daunting task of scoring 368 to win in five sessions.
The match had not begun well for India. After being put in to bat on losing the toss, the visitors were tottering at 127 for seven before Shardul Thakur decided to take the fight to the opponent's camp. In a brilliant and attacking innings, Thakur plundered 57 runs in just 36 balls and with Umesh Yadav as company, put up 63 runs for the eight wicket. Still, a total of 191 was not expected to be enough on a track that was believed to be flat and full of runs.
But the Indian bowlers bowled to a plan and did not allow the English batsmen to dictate terms. Bumrah produced a brilliant opening spell to send back the openers and peg the hosts back. Later, Umesh Yadav, making a comeback after a long time, destroyed the middle order to leave England reeling at 62 for five. But the England lower order of Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Chirs Woakes steadied the ship and England ended at 290, gaining a lead of 99 runs.
India started brilliantly in the second innings. Sharma and KL Rahul put on 83 runs and then Pujara and Sharma added 153 rums for the second wicket to frustrate the England bowlers. Sharma was exceptionally brilliant and notched up his first overseas century. After he got out, there was a mini collapse and from 236 for two, India were 312 for 6 within 30 overs. But then Rishabh Pant, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah made merry to add another 154 runs to the tally. This made all the difference (the winning margin was 157 runs) and India ended at 466 to set a target of 368 for the visitors.
Although England started well with Burns and Hameed putting up a 100-run opening stand,the Indian bolwers did not aloow them to get on top. After Shardul Thakur got the breakthrough by dismissing Burns, England suffered a setback as David Malan was run out by a direct throw from substitute fielder Mayank Agarwal. But the spell which broke England's back was provided by Jasprit Bumrah. In a 6 over spell, Bumrah bowled with fire and imagination to dismiss Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow. Thakur, on the other hand, foxed the in-form Joe Root and made him play on. Umesh Yadav mopped came back to mop up the tail. It was a joint effort by the Indian bowlers with Ravindra Jadeja also chipping in with two valuable wickets.
Although Rohit Sharma was adjudged man of the match, he rightly said that Shardul Thakur should have been given the award jointly with him for his all-round performance. The only negative from this Test was the continued lack of form of vice-captain Ajinkye Rahane. There was much criticism about team selection as many experts felt R Ashwin should have been selected. At the post match briefing, Indian skipper Virat Kohli said that the team was not concerned with what others say and their selection process is collective and they try to put the best team on the field. India have now gone up 2-1 in the series with the last Test starting at Manchester on September 10.
