(Cricket news) Virat Kohli's men have ended India's 50 year wait for a victory at the Oval. The game was in the balance at the beginning of day 5 with England requiring 291 runs to win and India requiring 10 wickets.
The pitch as expected was very flat with no help for the quick bowlers. Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns completed their 100 run partnership along with their individual fifties. After reaching his 50, Burns got out to a beautiful Shardul Thakur out-swinger. Bowling from around the wicket Shardul angled the ball in but the ball moved slightly away which was just enough to find the outside edge.
Dawid Malan joined Hameed but the partnership and the two had a very uncomfortable partnership. Malan survived an LBW call due to umpires call while Hameed was dropped by Mohammed Siraj. The partnership ended when the batters tried to take an unnecessary run. Malan was run-out after some good fielding by substitute Mayank Agarwal.
Despite batting on 63, Hameed looked like he was struggling and batting with no intent. His struggle ended when Ravindra Jadeja hit the rough patch from over the wicket to dislodge the top of off stump. Then it was Jasprit Bumrah mayhem for 6 overs. Virat Kohli brought his lead bowler into the attack to take wickets and he did exactly what was needed. Bumrah seemed to have unlocked reverse swing on the old ball. He bowled a Jaffa to dismantle Ollie Pope's stumps and followed it up by getting Jonny Bairstow out for a duck with a quick inswing Yorker. He bowled a similar yorker to Joe Root but the England captain managed to get some bat on it to survive by the barest of margins.
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Jadeja got rid of Moeen Ali in no time as he once again hit the rough as the ball caught Moeen's inside edge for short leg to catch. Umesh Yadav cleaned up the tail, claiming the last three wickets to secure a legendary victory. On the flat day 5 pitch, India got their tactics spot on using reverse swing to their advantage. Jadeja did exactly what was required as he kept hitting the rough consistently keeping things tight in the process. Bumrah bowled the best spell of the series so far getting the ball to reverse swing. Shardul Thakur got two very crucial breakthroughs while Umesh Yadav cleaned up the tail.
India have made sure that they atleast draw the series with this win. A draw from this stage will be a failure anyway as one would expect India to win the next game. The game at the Old Trafford will be a great chance for India to win a Test series in England after 13 years.
Player of the day: Jasprit Bumrah
Bumrah produced one the best spells in cricket history but his contribution to the game was much more than those two wickets. The seamer gave away only 27 runs in his 22 overs which included 9 maidens. He displayed an ability to generate reverse swing from the old ball which is something we hadn't seen from him before. Bumrah may be rested in the next game having played all 4 of the series but if he does play then he will certainly be crucial for India.
