ENG vs IND: 4th Test – England seize advantage with lower order counter attack
After a fairly balanced first day’s play, England and India managed to play out another interesting day of cricket at the Oval, where the two teams were neck to neck once again. Resuming the day on 53 for 3, England soon slipped to 62 for 5. But, England recovered from that and ended up posting 290, earning a lead of 99 runs. The Indian openers were firm though and took them to 43 for 0 at the end of the day’s play. India still trail by 56 runs.
Here are the talking points from day two of The Oval Test:
Ollie Pope returns the faith of the selectors finally
Everyone who has watched Ollie Pope knows that he is a special player. His record for Surrey meant he wasn’t going to hang around with county mates too often and he had to come good at one point or the other. But, he had to convert the starts into a significant score. Joe Root and coach Chris Silverwood would be pleased the Pope returned their faith when it mattered the most. His gritty knock of 81 was exactly what England needed when they were pushed back early in the morning and were struggling to get India’s total.
Chris Woakes wags for the tail to extend England’s lead
There is nothing that Woakes can do wrong at this moment. England called him in to deliver and he has not disappointed yet. On day one, he picked up four Indian wickets and was the pick of the bowlers. On day two, he turned up the heat with his bat. The Warwickshire all-rounder came out at no. 9, with England just about 30 runs ahead. His knock of 50 from 60 balls was the final cherry on the top. He counter-attacked the bowling and took charge forming an important last wicket stand of 35 runs. His knock was instrumental in stretching England’s lead to 99 runs.
Indian openers manage to survive and give a good start
When the first innings deficit is 99 runs, it is essential that the openers give a good start to the team. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma have now almost made it a habit to not just survive the first few overs, but also add some valuable runs against a strong attack with the new Duke’s ball. Rahul made 22 while Rohit made 20, but the pair would take pride having survived a tricky hour’s play.
