Thakur (60), Pant (50) lead late fightback to help visitors post lead of 367; hosts end Day Four at 77 for no loss
India wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant; (right) India’s Shardul Thakur en route his 60 during Day Four of the fourth Test against England The Oval in London yesterday. Pics/Bipin Patel
Shardul Thakur smashed his second half-century of the match while Rishabh Pant showed required restraint while returning to form as India scored 466 in their second innings to take a lead of 367 on Day Four of the fourth Test here on Sunday.
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England were 77 for no loss at stumps with openers Rory Burns (31) and Haseeb Hameed (43) staying unbeaten.
Mini collapse for visitors
India did encounter another mini middle-order collapse as they slumped from 296 for 3 to 312 for 6 in a space of 10 overs in the first session but Thakur (60 off 72 balls) and Pant (50 off 107 balls) joined forces to add 100 runs for the seventh wicket.
If that wasn’t enough Umesh Yadav (25) and Jasprit Bumrah (24) used the long handle gleefully, adding muscle to the already beefed up total.
It did help that the pitch became flatter as the day progressed and under bright sunshine, strokeplay became easier for both the batters as they could hit through the line.
While Shardul, who is fondly called Beefy by team’s head coach Ravi Shastri for his Ian Botham-like exploits, is reinforcing his value as a bowling all-rounder. His three straight drives were as good as any of the shots that his illustrious seniors Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara hit on the third day. It was sight to behold as he picked an Ollie Robinson (2-105) slower early and dispatched it over long-on to reach 49 and then a pull shot for a single helped him complete his fifty.
If Shardul’s 57 in the first innings had helped the team reach a respectable total, his approach in the second innings ensured that Pant wasn’t in his usually harakiri mode that brought about his downfall during a number of occasions this summer.
In fact, the left hander curbed his instincts to charge down the track and played as per merit of each delivery. Only when he was in his 30’s that he lofted Moeen Ali for a one bounce four and in his 40’s charged out to slash James Anderson (1-79) over covers for a boundary. In the first session of the day, Virat Kohli (44, 96 balls) showed promise with his cover drives but a beautiful slider from Moeen saw his back as his forward defensive prod found the outside edge into the slip’s hands.
Rahane flops
But amid a good batting performance, what struck like a sore thumb was vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane’s (0) another failure in what were the best batting conditions so far in the series.
Brief scores: India 191 & 466 (R Sharma 127, C Pujara 61, S Thakur 60, R Pant 50; C Woakes 3-83, Robinson 2-105, Moeen 2-118) v England 290 & 77 for no loss (R Burns 31*, H Hameed 43*)
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