Ind vs Eng: India in commanding position to win the First Test after Day Four

After stumps of Day three, England finished their innings at 25 for the loss of no wicket. Therefore India needed early wickets on Day Four of the First Test in order to win the match.

Siraj did the job of providing the opening breakthrough early in the second innings as he took the important wicket of Rory Burns. Soon after the dismissal of Burns, Bumrah dismissed Crawley cheaply for six and England was 46-2. As a result, the burden of saving the test match fell into the hands of the English captain once again.

However, Root continued from where he left in the first innings as he started to pile up runs quickly on one end. On the other hand, Sibley held the fort on the other end and was playing the role of an anchor. As a result, England crossed the mark of hundred runs and it looked like Root and Sibley were moving towards a large score. The ball wasn’t moving and Joe Root was smashing the Indian bowlers and was heading to his century.

However, Sibley threw his wicket to Bumrah after scoring 28 of 133 balls. Hence all the hard work by the opener went in vain as he edged one to the keeper. All India needed was a wicket and England lost Bairstow after the pair added forty runs. Just like Dominic Sibley, Johnny Bairstow got out after being settled.

Daniel Lawrence made a quickfire 25 and Shardul Thakur trapped him in front of the stumps. Thakur got yet another wicket as he dismissed Buttler for 17. As a result, England lost four quick wickets and was reeling at 237-6. England was leading by 142 runs and Joe Root was their only hope to save the test match.

Bumrah’s Five Wicket Haul Help India get Closer towards victory

Soon after Buttler was dismissed, Root scored a well-deserved century. On a pitch where everyone else was throwing wickets, Root played proper cricketing shots and scored his 21st test hundred. Sam Curran also started scoring on the other end.

However, Bumrah was called upon after Virat Kohli decided to take the new ball after 80 overs. As soon as the new ball was taken Bumrah struck as he took the crucial wicket of Joe Root. Curran and Robinson added few runs before Bumrah added two quick wickets to his tally. First, he dismissed the well-set Sam Curran for 32 and unleashed a deadly yorker to send Broad home the next delivery itself. With Stuart Broad’s wicket, Jasprit Bumrah earned his sixth five-wicket haul in test matches.

A few overs later Mohammed Shami wrapped up the innings as he got his first wicket in the form of Ollie Robinson. England was dismissed for a total of 303. As a result, India had to chase 209 runs to win the first test.

The Indian openers had to give the team a decent start to help the team win the test match. KL Rahul started punishing the English bowlers and went off to a flying start. He quickly reached his twenties before nicking one of the bowling of Stuart Broad. Pujara and Rohit then ensured India don’t lose any wickets and ended the day with a score of 56 for one wicket.

Therefore India requires 157 runs in 98 overs to win the first test whereas England needs to take nine wickets in order to win the test match. The only other way this test match could head towards a different result is if the rain decides to intervene and stop the play.

To Summarize Day four, Joe Root’s century helped England get a decent lead. Whereas Bumrah’s five-wicket haul put India take complete control of the First Test.

Also Read: IND vs ENG: KL Rahul, Jadeja help India take control of the First Test

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