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The India vs England Test hangs in the balance at the end of day 4.
India have made a cautious start in the 2nd innings, but have a mountain to climb on day 5. They will script history if they manage to chase a record-breaking 420 in the first Test.
England have been on top for four days now and will look to drive home that dominance come the business end of the Test.
Their surprising decision not to declare has been criticized by many. It brought down the number of overs that India will have to bat to see the match through.
Joe Root's call will definitely be questioned even more if England don't pick nine wickets on day 5.
Brief scores: India 337 and 39/1 (Shubman Gill 15*, Cheteshwar Pujara 12*; Jack Leach 1/21) need 381 runs against England 578 and 178(Joe Root 40; Ravichandran Ashwin 6/61)
Tasked with chasing 420, India’s openers started confidently. But Rohit Sharma’s poor run continued, and the opener once again failing to make a mark.
He played down the wrong line, and Jack Leach picked England’s first wicket of the 2nd innings.
His was the only wicket India lost, as Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubman Gill saw out the remainder of the day. Gill looked particularly impressive, playing some sumptuous shots.
The equation is simple now for both teams. India have the option of going for the win or playing it safe to earn a draw.
But with a pitch that is deteriorating by the hour, both options are easier said than done. With the odd ball misbehaving, India’s batsmen will have to be wary as they go about their business on the final day.
England, on the other hand, need nine wickets to win the Chennai Test.
The grip and turn that Jack Leach got is a positive sign, and Dominic Bess will play a crucial role on day 5 too.
The pace of Archer and Anderson’s reverse swing prowess will be a considerable threat to India’s batsman as well.
India and England locked in battle on day 4
India began the day with four wickets in hand in their first innings. Ashwin and Sundar made a confident start but wickets tumbled with the introduction of the second new ball.
Jack Leach redeemed himself with a couple of wickets, while James Anderson cleaned up the tail later on. Washington Sundar did the bulk of the scoring, but agonizingly missed out on a century as he ran out of partners.
With a lead upward of 200, England’s intentions were clear when they came out to bat. Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, England kept the scoring rate above 3.5.
Joe Root’s quickfire 40 helped, with useful contributions from Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler and Dominic Bess taking England’s lead past 400.
Although they started aggressively, they slowed down post tea.
Surprisingly enough, England were content with letting the innings crawl at a snail’s pace before being bowled out.
They didn’t add many runs during that phase too which brings out the question: what was their team management actually planning for?
The hosts were happy to be on the field, for it meant fewer overs of batting for them.
Ravichandran Ashwin was the star of the show, picking six wickets on day 4. The off-spinner used both the new and old ball to perfection.
The turn and bounce that he earned from the pitch flummoxed England.
Ashwin was admirably supported by Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. Both used the reverse swing to great effect, with Sharma becoming just the third Indian pacer to get to 300 Test wickets.
It thus comes down to the final day in Chennai.
Joe Root has some serious thinking to do regarding his game plan. Although he has 90 overs to bowl India out, it could become an even tougher tough ask if one of the batsmen gets set and scores a big hundred.
Despite not being at their best over the first four days, all will be forgotten if India can script a famous win at the Chepauk.
Even a draw would be a great result for India, and it will be interesting to see how Virat Kohli’s men approach the chase.
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