IND vs ENG 2021 The Oval Test Day 5: Team India bowlers sizzle as visitors go 2-1 up 

Team India’s bowlers came up with an inspired bowling effort as the visitors defeated England by 157 runs at The Oval to claim an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Jasprit Bumrah (2/27), Ravindra Jadeja (2/50) and Shardul Thakur (2/22) made crucial contributions to keep Team India ahead in the game before Umesh Yadav (3/60) ripped through the England tail. The hosts, who resumed their innings on 77 for no loss, were bowled out for 210 in 92.2 overs.

After the first few hours of the day saw an even contest between bat and ball, Team India gained control of proceedings after lunch. England gave away only two wickets in the opening session as the match seemed to be heading towards a draw. The hosts, though, spectacularly lost their way in the post-lunch session, losing six wickets as they floundered in the face of excellent relentless bowling from Team India.

Burns hits a deserved half-century but edges Shardul to Pant a ball later.Tune into Sony Six (ENG), Sony Ten 3 (HIN), Sony Ten 4 (TAM, TEL) & SonyLIV (https://t.co/AwcwLCPFGm ) now! 📺#ENGvINDOnlyOnSonyTen #BackOurBoys #Shardul #Burns pic.twitter.com/wtNsKZft3T

— Sony Sports (@SonySportsIndia) September 6, 2021

After England resumed at 131 for 2 after lunch, Jadeja gave Team India the breakthrough by ending Haseeb Hameed’s stubborn resistance. The left-arm spinner got one to rip out of the rough from over the wicket and castled Hameed. The England opener faced 193 balls for his 63, but Team India had the opening they needed.

Bumrah then breached the defences of Ollie Pope (2) and Jonny Bairstow (0). Pope was done in by a length delivery that nipped off the seam and crashed onto the stumps to give Bumrah his 100th Test wicket. The Team India spearhead then produced a sizzling yorker that proved to be too good for Bairstow.

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— Sony Sports (@SonySportsIndia) September 6, 2021

England’s slide continued as Moeen Ali (0) edged one from Jadeja to Suryakumar Yadav at short leg. From 141 for 2, England had slipped to 147 for 6.

Captain Joe Root was England’s last hope. However, Thakur, who had an unforgettable match, delivered the big breakthrough for Team India by taking out the English captain. Root (36) tried to guide an innocuous length delivery to third man, but only managed to chop the ball onto his stumps.

Team India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, who can seemingly do nothing right at the moment, dropped Craig Overton off Bumrah’s bowling at third slip. However, Umesh Yadav ensured Team India went into Tea on a high, having the defiant Chris Woakes (18 off 47 balls) caught at short midwicket.

The LORD striketh gold! 💥Shardul bowls one in the corridor outside off and Root chops it on! 🇮🇳Tune into Sony Six (ENG), Sony Ten 3 (HIN), Sony Ten 4 (TAM, TEL) & SonyLIV (https://t.co/AwcwLCPFGm ) now! 📺#ENGvINDOnlyOnSonyTen #BackOurBoys #Shardul #Root pic.twitter.com/m4PoFlEhWI

— Sony Sports (@SonySportsIndia) September 6, 2021

England were 193 for 8 at Tea, with Team India just two strikes away from a memorable victory. Yadav completed the formalities in the final session, getting rid of Overton (10) and James Anderson (2).

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Team India fought hard in the first session as England remained defiant

Shardul Thakur celebrates after taking the wicket of Rory Burns. Pic: Getty Images

Earlier in the day, England's openers continued their defiant partnership from Day 4 to keep the team’s hopes of saving the Test alive. Rory Burns and Hameed soon brought up the hundred of the partnership without much trouble. It needed a moment of brilliance from Team India’s saviour in the Test, Thakur, to break the stubborn stand.

‘Lord Thakur', as he is often referred to, got one to pitch on a perfect length and hold its line. Burns (50) offered a compact defence, but the ball deviated enough to kiss the edge of his bat as the visitors got their first wicket of the innings.

In the 48th over of England's chase, Mohammed Siraj dropped a sitter from Hameed off Jadeja’s bowling at mid-on. However, England soon gave Team India something to cheer about, as Dawid Malan (5) was run out going for a non-existent single.

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— Sony Sports (@SonySportsIndia) September 6, 2021

As things would transpire, England soon ran out of luck as Team India’s bowlers showed plenty of pluck and ran riot. The upbeat visitors will now travel to Manchester, where they'll hope to seal a first series victory on English soil in more than a decade.