The hosts are just 35 runs away from securing a 3-1 victory in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, with Harry Brook and Joe Root steering the Three Lions to the brink of triumph. On the other hand, India requires four wickets to draw the series and avoid a defeat at The Oval.
The first session of Day 4 was evenly poised, with Indian pacers removing Ben Duckett for 54 and stand-in skipper Ollie Pope soon after. However, the middle order found stability through a crucial partnership between Harry Brook and Joe Root. Brook had a stroke of fortune in the 35th over when Mohammad Siraj caught him at 19, only for replays to reveal his foot had touched the boundary rope. Capitalising on the reprieve, Brook punished Prasidh Krishna with two consecutive boundaries in the same over.
Post lunch, Brook brought up his 14th Test half-century, achieving the milestone in his 50th appearance. Joe Root soon followed with his 67th fifty. From there, both batters appeared unshakable. In the 61st over, Brook reached a remarkable century off just 91 balls — the third-fastest by an England batter against India, behind Jamie Smith (80 balls) and Ben Duckett (88 balls). Meanwhile, Root surpassed the 500-run mark in a series against India for the third time — the most by any batter in history.
Two overs later, Brook’s entertaining knock came to an unusual end on 106, after his bat flew out of his hands and the ball deflected towards the non-striker’s end. Leading wicket-taker in this series, Siraj, making no mistake this time, claimed the wicket off Prasidh Krishna’s delivery. Their 195-run partnership was the second-highest fourth-innings stand for England against India.
Despite the setback, Root continued his march even through a brief spell of light rain. He went on to score his 39th Test century, surpassing Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara (38) to become the player with the fourth-most Test hundreds.
However, India found hope again late in the day when Prasidh Krishna dismissed both Jacob Bethell and the ever-dangerous Root (105 off 152), triggering a flicker of drama. With bad light halting play shortly after, the match was suspended for the day.
As Day 5 approaches, England’s Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton need just 35 more runs to seal the trophy. But with four wickets remaining and India’s pacers fired up, could there still be a twist in the tale?