(Cricket news) The 4th Test between India and England hangs in the balance after an interesting day 2 at the Oval. England started the day at 53/3. Umesh Yadav picked up early wickets to swing the match in India's favour but crucial runs from Jonny Bairstow, Ollie Pope, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes helped England to 290 runs with a lead of 99. Indian openers managed to play out the entire day to score 43 runs.
The day started in grand fashion for the Indian's as the Vidarbha Express A.K.A Umesh Yadav picked up two early wickets. After dismissing Joe Root on day 1, Yadav got rid of the night watchman Craig Overton early he then got rid of the well set Dawid Malan. The wicket became very flat when Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow were batting. The pair put together 89 runs to give England the edge. From an Indian perspective Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur were very inconsistent with the ball. Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah were both firing but didn't get adequate support. Ravindra Jadeja did keep things tight when England's run rate was shooting up.
Siraj and Shardul were constantly trying to get Bairstow's leg trapped in front which led to them leaking a lot of runs but eventually Siraj did manage to get Bairstow out LBW. Moeen Ali walked in and scored a well made 35 but threw his wicket away by trying to take on Jadeja. Ollie Pope scored an invaluable 81 but got out playing Shardul Thakur's delivery onto his stumps. Chris Woakes on his comeback match scored a quickfire 50 batting with the tail. Jadeja got rid of Robinson and Bumrah caused Woakes' run-out to end the England innings on 290.
Also read: There is much less assistance from track compared to Day 1: Pope
Trailing by 99 runs KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma walked into bat on what had turned into a flat surface. Both the openers didn't have much trouble negotiating the 16 overs. Rohit did edge a couple of deliveries one of which didn't carry and the other was comically dropped by Rory Burns in 2nd slip.
The game hangs in the balance after day 2 as the wicket is getting flatter. The first hour or so tomorrow is gonna be very crucial. If the Indian openers can survive the first session then it's India's game but with the forecast suggesting overcast conditions the English bowlers will be looking to get a few wickets. A lot depends on what the skies have to say but India's middle order has to perform for India to win or even draw this Test match.
Player of the day: Ollie Pope
Making a comeback into the side, Pope scored a well made 81 at his home ground. His partnerships with Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes changed the dynamic of the game. It's safe to say that without him the game would've been completely in India's favour. Pope's dismissal was very unlucky, more so considering he was just 19 runs short of a ton.
