It was an exciting contest between England and India on Day One of the Oval Test. With the series level at 1-1, both teams were raring to get an edge in the five-match series.

After winning the toss and electing to field first, Joe Root's men were on a roll with the ball after getting some quick wickets. Half-centuries from Kohli and Shardul later helped raise Indian spirits.

While England managed to restrict India under 200, India alongside getting three wickets would be glad to get rid of Joe Root early on Day One.

We take you through the talking points of the Test match.

DAY ONE

Virat Kohli scores another fifty

After the openers were dismissed early, Virat Kohli led from the front and scored his second consecutive half-century. The Indian captain however couldn't extend his stay at the crease after getting dismissed for 50.

Shardul Thakur's blitz in the middle

Walking out to bat with India struggling at 127/7, Shardul Thakur grabbed the limelight for his atrocities with the bat. He slammed the fastest Test fifty on England soil off just 31 deliveries. His contribution brought India's total closer to 200.

Woakes gets four wickets on comeback

The England all-rounder who was making a comeback to Test cricket ended up as the pick amongst the bowlers. Chris Woakes got four wickets namely Rohit, Jadeja, Pant and Shardul to finish with 4/55. Robinson also picked three wickets including that of Kohli.

Bumrah picks two quick wickets

After putting up 191 runs on the board, Team India needed early breakthroughs and Jasprit Bumrah stood up with the new ball. The right-arm pacer dismissed both the openers in his second over to leave England reeling at 6/2.

Further, Umesh Yadav bowled Joe Root in the second last over before Stumps. This put the game in the balance as England ended Day One at 53/3. Catch the exciting cricketing action between England and India, LIVE on Day 2 at 3:30 PM IST.

DAY 2 

Umesh Yadav takes early wickets 

Umesh Yadav continued on Day 1’s good form. In his very first over of the day, the third for the team, he claimed Craig Overton’s wicket. Soon after, he took out birthday boy Dawid Malan too, pulling things to India’s side. 

Ollie Pope, Chris Woakes get half centuries 

After the hosts were 62/5, England fought back, first through a well paced 81 (159), helped by a decent 37 from Johnny Bairstow. Later, Chris Woakes joined the party with a 50 (60), to help England take a 99-run lead in the first innings. 

Rahul, Rohit give India a steady start 

Indian openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma gave India a steady second innings start. Rohit’s 20* in 56 balls and Rahul’s 22* in 41 balls put India on 43/0 at Stumps, Day 2. The duo will resume batting in the first session tomorrow. 

India trail by 56 runs in their second innings with 10 wickets and three more days of the match remaining, while the game itself proceeds at a rapid pace. Catch Day 3 action of the fourth Test between England and India at the Oval Stadium at 3.30 PM IST tomorrow.

DAY 3

Rohit scores first overseas Test century

Rohit Sharma scored his first overseas Test century with a sublime knock of 127 (256). He stitched together a half century partnership with KL Rahul, before adding 153 runs in a second wicket partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara.

Rohit cruised by a bunch of personal milestones too on the way to his well made century.

Pujara, Rahul play crucial knocks

KL Rahul scored a steady 46 (101) before falling to a James Anderson delivery. However, he had done enough to ensure a strong platform for India in the second innings, before the scorecard read 83-1.

Cheteshwar Pujara yet again played an important patient knock, keeping the runs flowing in from the other side while Rohit proceeded to his century. Pujara’s 61 (121) came at a good strike rate of 48.03 too, ensuring the first two sessions were written in India’s favour.

Ollie Robinson's twin strikes

Ollie Robinson came in with the new ball in the 81st over and struck immediately. He took out the Hitman in the very first delivery with a late short ball that tempted Rohit to go for a pull, but landed in the hands of Chris Woakes at deep square leg. In the over’s final ball, a short on middle delivery forces an edge from Pujara, and a happy Moeen Ali at third slip lapped up the ball.

Robinson’s strike brought India from 236-1 to 237-3 in a single over. However, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja have since then done well to steady the ship a little. Kohli will end the day at 22 (37) overnight with Jadeja at 9 (33).

India ended Day 3 with a 171-run lead with the match thrown wide open despite the day clearly being India’s. Catch interesting Day 4 action at 3.30 PM IST on 5th September, 2020 LIVE from the Oval, London.

DAY 4

Pant, Thakur get half centuries

Middle order batter Rishabh Pant and Shardul Thakul scored useful half centuries to pull India into a strong position after the team lost the wickets of Jadeja (17), Rahane (0) and Kohli (44) in a span of 16 runs.

Pant’s 50 (106) and Thakur’s 60 (72), his second half century in this match, helped India put on a 100-run partnership for the seventh wicket.

Indian tail’s impressive batting

After the 100-run partnership between Pant and Thakur, Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah made handy contributions to the scoreboard. Bumrah’s 24 (38) came with four 4s while Yadav’s 25 (23) came with a four and two sixes. Their knocks were crucial for India to get to 466 at the end of the innings, with a 367-run lead for the team.

Burns, Hameed start well for England

Chasing 368 in the final innings, with over a day’s play remaining, England made a slow but steady start. Haseeb Hamid’s 43* (85), along with Rory Burns’ 31* (109) put England at 77-0 at Stumps, Day 4.

England need 291 runs to win and have all the 10 wickets in their kitty as an added advantage. The match continues to tease viewers, having been thrown open with a good show by England in the final leg of Day 4.

Catch LIVE action on Day 5 between India and England from the Oval at 3.30 PM IST.

DAY 5 

England’s steady start until Thakur’s breakthrough 

England started the day on a healthy 77-0, and cruised to the 100-run mark easily. Rory Burns’ 50 (125), Haseeb Hameed’s 63 (193), and later a patient 39 (78) by Joe Root, who had his only game in the series with a century, gave England a slight edge. 

A caught behind off Shardul Thakur resulted in Rory Burns’ wicket, with India finally getting their first wicket at 100-1. 

Bumrah, Jadeja pull India back into the game 

After a Dawid Malan run-out to put England at 120-2, Jadeja found Hameed’s stumps in the 62nd over to make it 141-2 for England. Soon after, India saw three quick wickets. First, it was Ollie Pope, who could manage only 2(11), despite an 81 in the first innings. Jasprit Bumrah took care of him with an inswinger that met his stumps, claiming his 100th Test wicket. 

In his very next over, Bumrah struck again, taking Jonny Bairstow out for a duck with a neat yorker to the stumps. Jadeja then saw Moeen Ali out in the following over, pushing England to 147-6. 

New ball does the trick for India 

When the new ball came in for India in the 81st over, Shardul Thakur struck immediately, taking out the only set batter, Joe Root, finding the stumps. England lost their seventh wicket at 182 runs, and now the game seemed to be slowly slipping away from their hands. 

Soon, it was Umesh Yadav’s time to strike, claiming Chris Woakes’ wicket to make it 193-8 for England. Woakes departed for 18 (47), and England had an uphill task at hand with one more session remaining, needing 175 runs to win and batting out two wickets for a draw. 

Umesh finishes the job 

Eight overs after the first new ball, India opted for a second one. Umesh Yadav started the proceedings with the ball this time, and struck in the penultimate delivery of this over. Craig Overton is beaten and Umesh finds his stumps to send him home for 10 (29). 

Just about three overs later, once again Umesh Yadav saw James Anderson off to Rishabh Pant behind the stumps for 2 (5), halting England’s chase at 210-10. 

India won the fourth Test to take a 2-1 lead at the Oval in London. With this, India has retained the Pataudi Trophy. The teams move to Old Trafford, Manchester, on September 10, 2021, where they meet for the final Test at 3.30 PM IST.