England well placed as first Test set for thrilling conclusion

Jack Leach removes Rohit Sharma late on absorbing fourth day as England require further nine wickets to win opening Test.

India mount spirited fightback to save the first Test but still require require record run chase as Joe Root’s declaration decision leaves England with work to do on final day to ensure an impressive victory and India’s first Test home defeat since 2017.

Should Root have declared sooner? Credit: England Cricket

The hosts resumed in the morning session on 257-6 and went on to add a further 80 runs to the frustration of Joe Root’s men, taking the best part of a whole session as England chased the remaining four first innings wickets.

Washington Sundar moved his score on to an impressive 85 not out, portraying a commendable level of positivity given the precarious situation his side were in.

Sundar was duly supported by Ravi Ashwin who scored 31 as part of a valuable seventh-wicket partnership worth 80 runs, before he was dismissed by the impressive Jack Leach who claimed his first of two wickets after being overshadowed by fellow-spinner Dom Bess on Day Three.

The new ball provided the catalyst for England as James Anderson swiftly wrapped up the innings with the final two wickets, the latter of which delivered by a stunning one-handed slip catch from Ben Stokes, as India posted 337 all out and still 241 runs behind England’s first innings total.

This was the first time India had trailed by more than 200 runs in a first innings at home since 2012, ironically also against England.

With the evident fatigue amongst the England bowling attack, most notably Dom Bess who struggled to recapture his form from Sunday, Root opted not to enforce the follow-on as England looked to capitalise on their sizeable advantage.

The tourists resisted any changes to the batting lineup in an attempt to score runs quickly but it soon became evident in the two overs before lunch that the pitch would be difficult to score on.

Ashwin removed Rory Burns first ball edging to slip, becoming the first spinner to take a wicket on the opening delivery of an innings since 1907, as England headed into the afternoon session 1-1.

Spin from both ends, coupled with the usual animation from the Indian fielders, provided a stern test for Dom Sibley and Dan Lawrence as Shahbaz Nadeem regularly produced challenging turn and bounce.

However, Lawrence in particular displayed much more confidence with his footwork against the spinners and appeared calm in the heat of battle as the pair moved the score on.

A change of angle for Ashwin provided the breakthrough, finding the edge of Sibley on 16, before Ishant Sharma became only the third Indian pace bowler after Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan to reach 300 Test wickets, dismissing Lawrence LBW for 18 leaving England 58-3.

The in-form Root once again looked to be batting on different pitch to everybody else as he moved the game on quickly, racing to 25 from just 12 deliveries with another exhibition of sweep shots off the spinners.

Ben Stokes’ stay at the crease was short lived, feathering the ball through to the keeper after pushing at wide delivery off Ashwin but Ollie Pope immediately signalled his intent by dispatching Sharma to the boundary with a classy Ian Bell-esque cover drive.

Pope and Root both survived third umpire reviews, before the latter was trapped plumb LBW in a probing spell from Jasprit Bumrah for another highly impressive knock of 40 from just 32 balls.

Nonetheless, the reverse-swing and uneven bounce from the seamers accounting for the dismissals of Root and Lawrence, as well as turn and bounce for the spinners, provided encouraging signs for the England bowlers.

Early indications hinted that Jos Buttler would go on the attack with a towering six down-the-ground off the bowling of Nadeem as England ended the session on 119-5, a commanding lead of 360.

Pope’s brief knock was full of innovation. Credit: England Cricket

The main question on everyone’s lips during the tea break was at what point England would declare, with India’s recent successful chase of 328 against Australia at the Gabba still fresh in people’s memories. In addition, the hosts also completed the highest successful fourth innings run chase in India, 387-4 against England in 2008.

As expected, the tourists continued to bat with Ollie Pope displaying a number of eye-catching shots. However, in attempting a reverse sweep which brought him a boundary the previous delivery, Pope could only find Rohit Sharma at cover ending an enterprising knock of 28.

What followed was a rather surprising phase of play as Jos Buttler and Dom Bess appeared in no rush to move the score on, with the Indian players understandably happy to similarly slow the game down at every opportunity.

With the lead creeping towards 400, it became apparent that England were either playing to an agreed time with the bowlers, or simply wanting to score as many runs as possible to best support an inexperienced spin bowling attack.

As play ticked into the last hour, calls for a declaration quickly vanished as England lost their final four wickets for 13 runs to finish 178 all out, with Ashwin mopping up the tail to finish with figures of 6-61, including a terrific delivery to remove Jofra Archer.

Buttler and Bess were swiftly removed for measured scores of 24 and 25 respectively but with exception of Buttler, who was way short of his ground following a rare stroke in anger in the evening session, the lower order showed little intent to score quickly, much to the frustration of England fans back home.

Set a daunting total of 420, India’s openers set about surviving a potentially challenging 13 overs remaining in the day. Far from that, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill appeared keen to apply pressure on the England bowlers, as Gill took advantage of some loose deliveries from Leach who took the new ball.

Rohit then pulled Archer into the stands for a huge six as India raced along at five runs per over in the early stages. However, he could do nothing about the delivery from Leach the following over, with the Somerset spinner producing a peach of delivery that pitched on middle stump before crashing into the top of off stump, providing England with a much-needed breakthrough.

Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara saw out the remaining overs from James Anderson and Dom Bess with little concern as the hosts closed on 39-1, requiring a further 381 more runs to win on the final day.

Leach celebrates taking the opening wicket. Credit: England Cricket

England remain nicely positioned in difficult batting conditions to take nine India wickets, following an absorbing day of Test cricket in Chennai. Nevertheless India’s fearless lineup, including captain Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane still to come, will certainly be confident of batting out the day for a draw, if not an unlikely victory.

Should India survive the morning session relatively unscathed, the aggressive Rishabh Pant could be the danger man for England should the target come into sight, following the wicket-keeper’s impressive counter-attacking display in the first innings.

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