England vs India, 4th Test, day 4 – as it happened: Moeen Ali, Stokes power hosts to series win

Moeen Ali is adjudged the Man of the Match, what a way to make your comeback in the side.

“The [English] bowlers applied a lot of pressure. Credit to the bowlers,” says Kohli.

“Me and jinks [Ajinkya] . Not many negatives here. We take a lot of heart from the match and hopefully, we can to take it to the last game. I congratulate Sam Curran, who has been a great find for England.”

ENGLAND win by 60 runs and wrap up series
From being 36/4, to come back and win the series was immense. The joke doing the round is that England start when they are five-down, India’s batting order ends at five-down. India were on top for large parts of the Test but unfortunately, it was a step too far. The wait for a series win in England continues. When the chips were down, England just found the right kind of personnel to step up: Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali and Sam Curran, though, take the plaudits.

INDIA 184 in 69.4 Overs, R Ashwin lbw Curran 25 (36)
Quite fittingly, Curran takes the last wicket. That was unfortunate for Ashwin, who saw the ball keeping low and crashing onto his pads. Umpire Oxenford raises the finger, and the England players enter a huddle. What an enthralling Test match.

INDIA 184/9 in 69 Overs (Ashwin 25, Bumrah 0)
SIX! Ashwin steps out against Moeen and connects. The ball sails over the long-on fence. The India off-spinner is playing a little gem here, and is looking at every opportunity to score runs. He also sneaked through for a quick single in the last ball of the over to keep strike.

INDIA 175/9 in 67 Overs (Ashwin 16, Bumrah 0)
Ashwin tries a scoop off Moeen Ali and the top edge nearly flies as far as Root at short mid-on. The English are edging closer but Ashwin, in the meanwhile, brought up a couple of cracking boundaries.

Irrespective of what Ashwin and Bumrah do, it has been yet another tame middle-order collapse from the Indian batsmen. There have hardly been any contributions in the lower middle-order, which has failed to click yet again.

WICKET! INDIA 163/9 in 64.2 Overs, M Shami c Anderson b Ali 8 (11)
Shami also perishes by the sword as India’s hopes now hang in the balance. The India pacer skips out and and tries to heave the ball over long-on but skies it only as far as Anderson, who completes a simple catch. Ali takes four to go with his five from the first innings. Talk about impact.

INDIA 161/8 in 64 Overs (Ashwin 4, Shami 6)
Stokes’s pace is still up and is going full at the stumps. There is plenty of reverse for the England all-rounder too as Ashwin sees another over out.

WICKET! Ishant Sharma lbw b Stokes 0 (5), INDIA 154/8 in 61.5 Overs Ishant is trapped in front! Stokes gets it to move in sharp and suddenly, India are eight down! It’s all but over! The visitors still need another 87 runs to win.

WICKET! Rahane LBW! India’s chase is unravelling! Moeen pitches it in the rough and gets it to turn in. The batsman fails to get bat to ball and is trapped in front.
Rahane lbw Moeen 51 (159b 1x4).

WICKET! INDIA 150/6 in 58.4 Overs, R Pant c Cook b Ali 18 (12)
Pant lives by the sword and perishes by it. He was look out and heave Ali out of the park, and this dismissal was a case of trying it one time too many. Cook at deep cover comes in and takes a neat catch.

INDIA 146/5 in 57 Overs (Rahane 50, Pant 14)
Rahane gets to his fifty, once again underlining his importance in these conditions. This has been a gritty knock, reading the match situation well and bailing his team out of a difficult phase.

INDIA 142/5 in 56 Overs (Rahane 49, Pant 11)
Stokes is getting reverse swing but India see it out safely. Rahane moves one short of his half century and the target is slowly crawling below 100.

INDIA 140/5 in 55 Overs (Rahane 47, Pant 11)
SIX! Pant steps out and hammers Moeen Ali over long on and it’s a deja vu of the first ball he faced in Test cricket. This is an important partnership for India.

WICKET! INDIA 132/5 in 53.3 Overs Hardik falls almost immediately after Lunch! Stokes squares him up as he edges it to slips where Root completes a smart low catch.
Hardik Pandya c Root b Stokes 0 (7)

TEA TIME: INDIA 126/4 in 53 Overs (Rahane 44, Pandya 0), need 119 to win
England got a wicket at a crucial time in the session, which was certainly India’s following Kohli and Rahane’s 101-run stand. Pandya survived a nervous start to the day. Moeen has impressed but had to work hard to get his first wicket, which was the most crucial of the Indian innings.

INDIA 125/4 in 52 Overs (Rahane 43, Pandya 0)
England have found their mojo back and Stokes beats Pandya’s outside edge with two outstanding deliveries that was a short of a length but teased the bat.

WICKET! V Kohli c Cook b Moeen Ali 58 (130), INDIA 123/4 in 50.5 Overs
Moeen is brought back on and gets the breakthrough. The ball tuns into Kohli from the rough, bobs up in the air and Cook takes a safe catch. The review was taken but Kohli had a resigned look on his face. The hotspot showed that there was a glove. Kohli was beaten by the turn and the bounce.

INDIA 122/3 in 50 Overs (Kohli 58, Rahane 41)
Stokes comes on and the result is the same – the runs continue to flow thick and fast. With a boundary flicked down to the vacant fine-leg area by Kohli, the Indian captain and Rahane have brought up their 100-run stand. It has been an exhibition of battling it out, seeing out a difficult phase and doing simple things right.

INDIA 113/3 in 46 Overs (Kohli 52, Rahane 38)
FIFTY FOR KOHLI. He has been head and shoulders above the rest of the batsmen in this series and yet again, he proves his class. He reaches his fourth fifty of the series with a flick on the leg side that trickles away into the ropes. Only he can afford to play across the line against Anderson. The movement on the wicket has dried up.

INDIA 107/3 in 44 Overs (Kohli 46, Rahane 38)
England’s desperation to break this partnership can be seen by the loud appeals of Rashid and Anderson. Both were tight leg-before calls but the right decision was given on both occasions. Kohli and Rahane are on their way to bringing up their hundred-run stand. One trait that has stood out with both players is their intent in picking up quick singles. There is a good understanding between the batsmen too.

INDIA 98/3 in 42 Overs (Kohli 40, Rahane 36)
Finally, Anderson gets Kohli to play a false short. The Indian captain plays and misses. Meanwhile, there is no turn for Rashid. The singles keep coming and the target keeps shrinking. The sun is out and it is a lot more conducive to bat on as there is no evidence of any vicious swing.

INDIA 91/3 in 39 Overs (Kohli 39, Rahane 29)
Former England spinner Graeme Swann in commentary is not liking Root’s field placements one bit. Meanwhile, the runs are coming a lot more freely for India and the tables may have turned just a little bit. This duo may have done a mighty successful job seeing out a tough passage of play.

Moeen Ali has now bowled 13 overs on the bounce. Anderson comes back

INDIA 82/3 in 37 Overs (Kohli 34, Rahane 25)
Moeen continues to get some turn from the rough. Against Adil Rashid, though, the Indians are a lot more comfortable and are picking the gaps and rotating strike. The batsmen too, are batting a lot more freely.

INDIA 72/3 in 32 Overs (Kohli 26, Rahane 23)
Fifty partnership comes up between Kohli and Rahane. After all his good work in the previous over, Rashid goes short and wide to Kohli, and it is dispatched to the long on fence. One would struggle to think of a slower innings that the Indian captain has played in his career than the one he is playing right now.

INDIA 64/3 in 28 Overs (Kohli 22, Rahane 19)
Rashid goes full against Kohli in the last ball of the over and raps him on his pads. Umpire Oxenford, after an age, says not out. England are out of reviews but it looks like that was easily missing leg stump.

Adil Rashid is brought on by Root

INDIA 64/3 in 28 Overs (Kohli 22, Rahane 19)
As Kohli completed a slew of records with the last few runs he scored, Moeen Ali continues to be England’s go-to weapon now, and is in the middle of a lengthy spell. The Indian captain-vice captain duo are biding their time at the crease, aiming to blunt the bowlers down. Kohli and Rahane’s partnership is now worth 42 runs.

INDIA 60/3 in 25 Overs (Kohli 18, Rahane 19)
ENGLAND LOSE THEIR SECOND REVIEW. The ball spun back in by a mile and raps Kohli on the pads. Umpire Dharmasena rules it not out. Root takes the review once again and replays show that the ball’s impact was not in line. The umpire’s call of not out saves Kohli on this occasion and the Indian captain survives yet again.

INDIA 53/3 in 23 Overs (Kohli 15, Rahane 15)
50 up for India! Kohli, Rahane soldier on after the lunch break. The pair have survived scares and will hope to make most of the reprieves and chip away at the deficit.

Kohli-Rahane back in the middle. India resume on 46/3. They still need another 199 runs to win.

LUNCH TIME, INDIA NEED 199 TO WIN
It’s been a riveting session. India did well to mop up the tail but Anderson and Broad showed their class, picking up three wickets in quick succession. The decision of TV umpire Joel Wilson to give Kohli not out is throwing up a lot of debate. There are many who think that Moeen Ali should have got the wicket. Long way to go in this Test but it’s England who have their noses in front. Can Rahane and Kohli cash in on their narrow escapes?

INDIA 46/3 in 20 Overs (Rahane 13, Kohli 10)
India retain their review. NOT OUT. Big couple of overs this for the Indians, with decisions going their way on both occasions. Umpire Oxenford raised his finger before Rahane went upstairs. Replays showed that the ball was going on top of the off-stump. One from the over.

Sam Curran is into the attack.

INDIA 42/3 in 17 Overs (Kohli 10, Rahane 7)
Kohli survives a close call. Moeen Ali immediately takes a review after rapping Kohli on his pads. The hotspot shows the ball taking a faint edge off Kohli’s bat. Othewise, that looked out. Root and some of the England players are livid. A game of fine margins this.

INDIA 31/3 in 15 Overs (Kohli 4, Rahane 4)
Moeen Ali is getting turn from the footholes, making one think Ashwin could have done a little more when he went on a marathon spell yesterday. Stokes started his spell with a couple of bouncers; once again, Rahane was forced to fend it awkwardly.

Ben Stokes comes on

INDIA 29/3 in 13 Overs (Kohli 3, Rahane 4)
Maiden over from Moeen Ali. There was a hint of turn for the England all-rounder. There was a big shout for a leg-before too but the ball had pitched outside the line and Kohli had taken a big stride forward. Tidy from Moeen, who relied on variations more in this over.

INDIA 25/3 in 11 Overs (Kohli 1, Rahane 2)
All of Anderson’s deliveries to Kohli was on a good length and maintained an off-stump line. Kohli sees out a maiden.

INDIA 25/3 in 10 Overs (Kohli 1, Rahane 2)
Kohli is off the mark with a push to mid-on. England have been slightly erratic on the field and a couple of misfields allows the Rahane to get a couple of singles. Broad and Anderson are still probing.

WICKET! S Dhawan c Stokes b Anderson 17 (29), INDIA 22/3 in 8.3 Overs
Oh boy, India are in all kinds of trouble here. Anderson gets one to come back into Dhawan, who gets a leading edge. Stokes at third slip takes an excellent catch diving to his left. Anderson is delighted and England have a spring in their step.

WICKET! INDIA 17/2 in 7 Overs, C Pujara lbw b Anderson 5 (14)
And now, Anderson strikes. There is plenty of movement out there. Anderson and Broad have been probing and this time, the ball jags bag in by just a touch and Pujara is trapped in front. India took a review after umpire Dharmasena raised his finger. Replays showed that the ball was clipping middle and leg.

INDIA 12/1 in 5 Overs (Dhawan 9, Pujara 3)
Dhawan is beaten by an inswinger by Anderson and the England players make a confident appeal. Umpire Dharmasena turns it down and once again, they opt against using the review. Pujara has looked good so far for his three runs. It’s a cat and mouse game between the batsmen and the bowlers.

INDIA 4/1 in 3.1 Overs KL Rahul b Broad 0 (7)
That was a peach from Broad and the ball stayed low after pitching on length. There was little that Rahul could have done there. Broad is fired up.

INDIA 0/0 in 2 Overs
Excellent first over from Broad. The ball moves away and into the batsman and beats Rahul’s outside edge twice in the over. The England pacer, encouraged, chirps away at Rahul. Another maiden.

INDIA 0/0 in 1 Over
Dhawan didn’t offer a shot and the ball came back into him and rapped him on his pads. There was a loud appeal from the English fielders and umpire Dharmasena turns it down. Root, Buttler and Anderson have a discussion before wisely going against using a review. There is swing on offer for sure.

The Indians have taken the field. Dhawan to face Anderson

INDIA NEED 245 TO WIN
It might not be easy for India but coach Shastri and centurion Pujara sounded confident of chasing down any total England would end up posting. Anderson, Broad and Co have a target to bowl at. It is set up for an interesting battle.

England 271 in 96.1 Overs, S Curran Run out 46 (83), lead by 244
Alas, Curran’s heroics came to a tame end. He heaves Ashwin, missed the ball and the ball went to the third man region. The Englishman was late to react and scampers for a second. Ishant Sharma covers good ground and his throw was accurate. Pant whips off the bails and Curran was well short of the crease despite putting in a desperate full-length dive.

ENGLAND 270/9 in 96 Overs (Curran 46, Anderson 1), lead by 243 runs
Curran gets a single off Shami in the fourth ball of the over and gives Anderson the strike. The England pacer calmly blocks out two full deliveries.

A reminder: The last time India successfully chased a 200+ target outside Asia was at Adelaide, 2003

ENGLAND 269/9 in 95 Overs (Curran 45, Anderson 1), lead by 242 runs
Wonderful batting from Curran once again. He hammers a full delivery from Ashwin down the ground for a boundary and then gives Anderson one delivery to face, which was a wide one from the off-spinner that was left alone.

ENGLAND 260/9 in 93 Overs
Jimmy Anderson survives two balls of Ashwin after Curran gets the first run of the day with a flick to fine leg. Ashwin continues to struggle for rhythm.

Ashwin will bowl the second over

WICKET! S Broad c Pant b Shami, ENGLAND 260/9 in 92 Overs
What a start from India, pitched outside off Broad goes for an expansive drive and nicks it to the keeper. Shami is on a hat-trick and picks up his fourth wicket.

3:28 pm: It’s another bright, sunny day. Shami will bowl the first over of the day.

3:12 pm: “Anything less than 270 is definitely gettable. This pitch has eased out. There’s something there for the bowlers but if you get in, like Buttler showed and Curran showed, we can get runs.” - India coach Ravi Shastri.

2:53 pm: Wear and tear in pitch makes England favourites to win, says Jos Buttler. Both teams have contrasting views on how the pitch will behave.

2:51 pm: More words were spoken on the pitch and how it will behave. The pitch slowing down will help us in the second innings, says Pujara.

2:49 pm: Who do we believe here? What is the pitch like? The Indian contingent, led by Sanjay Manjarekar, who did a 360 yesterday by stating that “day four may not be as challenging to bat as we thought start of day three”.

Hello and welcome to day four of the fourth Test between England and India at Southampton. For much of day three, India had a day to forget as Jos Buttler once again frustrated the Indian pacers. Quite surprisingly, it seemed at though Virat Kohli had under-bowled his pacers. With the footholes offering vicious turn in the final two sessions, Ashwin, who toiled away had little reward to show at the end of it. Kushal tries to understand why this happened here.

England’s lower middle-order once again deserve praise for getting them out of danger. Ben Stokes played his slowest Test match knock till date while Jos Buttler continued to look in fine nick and was undoubtedly England’s best batsman yesterday. Shami was India’s best bowler: he was fast, got the ball to move both ways and picked up three wickets. Bumrah, meanwhile, didn’t have the best of days and was removed out the pace attack soon after he was re-introduced with the new ball.

England have a healthy lead of 233. On this wicket, it should prove sufficient. There is variable bounce and importantly, England have the ammunition to make the best use of the conditions. Sam Curran, who is showing maturity well beyond his 20 years is in the middle of another gem. A fourth innings target of over 250 will look like a whole other proposition for the visitors.