Tea: England 247 & 317-4 (Brook 111, Root 98*, Duckett 54) need 57 to beat India 224 & 396
Harry Brook and Joe Root walked off at tea with The Oval crowd humming, their 195-run stand dragging England from a tight spot to the verge of a 3-1 series result. When Brook arrived at 106-3, England still required 268; by the time he dragged a swipe to mid-on, only 73 were left.
Brook’s century came in 91 balls, his quickest in Tests and his first in a fourth-innings chase. Moments before lunch he offered a life, Mohammed Siraj treading on the boundary sponge at long leg after taking a skier. “You get those slices of luck, you’ve got to cash in,” Brook admitted to host broadcaster TNT Sports. He did, rattling to 38 from 30 deliveries before the interval and rarely easing off afterwards.
India spread the field, but Brook still carved anything with width and pulled the short ball hard, often in front of square. A thick edge off Prasidh Krishna sped between slip and gully—nobody in catching range—illustrating both England’s intent and India’s defensive posture. Brook celebrated three figures with a fist pump and a smile towards the dressing-room; seven balls later he lost his grip on the bat trying to slash Akash Deep for a third boundary in the over and was held at mid-on. “That was probably one too many,” he reflected, half-laughing.
Root had begun quietly yet finished the session on 98 not out, barely breaking sweat. He worked gaps, reverse-swept Ravindra Jadeja twice and lofted the left-arm spinner straight for four. When Siraj pinned him on the pad on 88, India reviewed; ball-tracking said the delivery would have missed leg stump. Root’s answer was two boundaries next over. “The plan was simple—stay busy, punish the bad ball,” he told BBC Test Match Special.
Duckett’s brisk 54 set the tone earlier in the day, but it was the Brook-Root alliance that sapped India. Siraj pounded out 17.1 overs across the first two sessions, his pace undimmed yet reward meagre. Akash Deep, visibly drained, slid while trying to kick back a boundary and grassed a return catch soon after.
With 57 still needed and six wickets in hand, England will fancy closing the job before the new ball arrives. India must conjure reverse swing or hope for nerves. As Brook put it, “We’ve done the hard work—now we just need to finish it.”
