Weather sends gripping England-India Test into final day
- Last updated: August 3, 2025 | 23:16
Harry Brook and Joe Root both hit hundreds before England’s series finale against India was left on a knife-edge after an Oval downpour cut short Sunday’s fourth day.
England were 339-6 when play was abandoned at 1703 GMT, with the hosts now needing a further 35 runs to reach a target of 374 on Monday’s final day.
India, meanwhile, require four wickets to end the five-match series level at 2-2.
England were faltering at 106-3 following the loss of stand-in captain Ollie Pope.
But the Yorkshire duo of Brook (111) and Root (105) turned the tide with a fourth-wicket stand of 195 that left England cruising to a 3-1 series win with more than a day to spare. But Brook’s exit sparked a mini-collapse that saw England lose three wickets for 36 runs, with Root also unable to finish the job.
And when bad light halted play at 1630 GMT, England were 339-6, with Jamie Smith (two not out) and Jamie Overton (nought not out) on their Surrey home ground.
A huge downpour then effectively prevented any hope of a resumption Sunday. The most any side have made in the fourth innings to win a Test at the Oval is England’s 263 in a one-wicket victory over Australia back in 1902.
But aggressive batting has been a cornerstone of England’s approach to Test cricket since captain Ben Stokes, ruled out of this match with a shoulder injury, and coach Brendon McCullum joined forces in 2022.
England started this series with the 10th highest successful run chase in Test history after they knocked off a target of 371 for a five-wicket win over India in the opener at Headingley in June.
Brook made an immediate impact when he came out to bat on Sunday, at one stage hitting 27 runs in the space of eight balls.
The talented 26-year-old charged down the pitch to loft Akash Deep for an extraordinary six over cover despite heavy cloud cover in London favouring India’s quicks.
Brook escape: He almost holed out to fine leg off Prasidh Krishna but Mohammed Siraj was unable to stop himself stepping onto the boundary rope, which meant a six for Brook.
India captain Shubman Gill let the game drift and it was not until the 43rd over, with England 190-3, that he introduced spin -- in the shape of Washington Sundar.
But neither off-spinner Sundar or left-armer Ravindra Jadeja made much impact against two well-set batsmen, who took just 108 balls to complete a century partnership.
Brook went to 98 when Deep misfielded a drive on the rope to concede a boundary.
Next ball a two to third man took Brook to a 91-ball century, including 12 fours and two sixes, his second of the series.
Brook’s innings ended in appropriately spectacular fashion when, going for another big hit off Deep, his bat flew out of his hands. As the blade soared towards square leg, the ball looped to mid-off where Siraj held the catch.
Root’s typically elegant straight-driven four off Siraj took him to 98 not out at tea, with the former England captain completing his 39th Test century following the interval, reaching the landmark in just 137 balls, including 12 fours.
Agence France-Presse
Scoreboard
India 1st Innings 224 (K Nair 57; G Atkinson 5-33, J Tongue 3-57)
England 1st Innings 247 (Z Crawley 64, H Brook 53; P Krishna 4-62, M Siraj 4-86)
India 2nd Innings 396 (Y Jaiswal 118, A Deep 66, R Jadeja 53, W Sundar 53; J Tongue 5-125, G Atkinson 3-127)
England 2nd Innings (target 374, overnight 50-1)
Z Crawley b Siraj14
B Duckett c Rahul b Krishna54
O Pope lbw b Siraj27
J Root c Jurel b Krishna105
H Brook c Siraj b Deep111
J Bethell b Krishna5
J Smith not out2
J Overton not out0
Extras (b1, lb8, nb1, w11)21
Total (6 wkts, 76.2 overs, 378 mins)339
To bat: C Woakes, G Atkinson, J Tongue
Fall of wickets: 1-50 (Crawley), 2-82 (Duckett), 3-106 (Pope), 4-301 (Brook), 5-332 (Bethell), 6-337 (Root)
Bowling: Deep 20-4-85-1 (1nb, 2w); Krishna 22.2-3-109-3 (1w); Siraj 26-5-95-2; Sundar 4-0-19-0; Jadeja 4-0-22-0
Match position: England need 35 more runs to win with four wickets standing
Agence France-Presse