Southampton: India succumbed to yet another away Test series defeat as England secured a gritty 60-run victory in the fourth Test at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on Sunday to win the five-match series.
Before the start of play on day 4, India coach Ravi Shastri was confident that his boys could keep the series alive. However, it wasn’t meant to be as the English bowlers produced a spirited performance to walk away with the series 3-1.
With a target of 245 runs to chase, India was dealt with an early blow losing the likes of KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara – reeling at 22-3. But Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane turned the match on its head with an instrumental hundred partnership to put the pressure back on the hosts.
However, Moeen Ali, who was the star of the show in the second innings, got rid of the India skipper before the tea break to give England an advantage. The wickets of Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant soon followed in the new session before Ali dismissed Rahane, to virtually take the game away from India.
The lower order kept crumbling as India slumped towards their third defeat of the series. The final Test will now be played at the Oval, commencing on Friday.
England win the 4th Test by 60 runs and take an unassailable lead of 3-1 in the five match Test series.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/YKknZmdRM2
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 2, 2018
There is never one factor that decides the result of a Test. But in the final essay the difference between Moeen & Ashwin proved to be the difference between the two sides.#ENGvIND
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) September 2, 2018
India 184-10 after 69.4 overs:
ALL OVER! Curran traps Ashwin in front of the wickets and England win the match and the series. What an entertaining contest!
India 166-9 after 65 overs:
WICKET! Another one bites the dust. Flighted by Moeen Ali, Shami goes for the big slog and miscues his hit. Gets a top edge that is collected by Anderson.
India 158-8 after 62 overs:
LBW! Ishant Sharma is out for nought as Ben Stokes gets his second wicket.
Like with the series in South Africa, this will go down as what-could-have-been rather than what actually was. Neither South Africa nor England were as good as they have been in the past. But then, maybe, India isn't as good as we believe it to be
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 2, 2018
India 153-7 after 61 overs:
REVIEW LOST AND A WICKET! Moeen Ali gets the big fish as Ajinkya Rahane perishes. Pitched outside off stump, Rahane gets on the back foot but is struck on the pads as he tries to play the flick. It looks plumb, three reds and he has to go. Is it the final nail in the coffin?
India 150-6 after 59 overs:
CAUGHT! Finds the man at deep extra cover and Moeen Ali has yet another wicket. Pant dances down the track again but slices it as the ball turns away after pitching. Cook in the deep closes in and takes a comfortable catch.
Young Pant living by the sword...and dying by it. Why play such high risk game with the target under 100?
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) September 2, 2018
India 146-5 after 58 overs:
Ajinkya Rahane reaches fifty, his second of the series. India surely need more from their vice-captain!
Well played Ajinkya Rahane. Whether he gets runs or not, you know he always gives it everything he has and is a fine team player.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 2, 2018
India 131-5 after 54 overs:
CAUGHT! Stokes strikes just after the tea break and India have lost Hardik Pandya for a duck. Back of a length delivery, straightens up after pitching and yeilds a thick edge off Pandya's blade that makes way towards Root at second slip.
Number 6 has been a real ‘floater’ position for India in this series. Has anyone batted at Number 6 in two consecutive innings? @mohanstatsman? #EngvInd
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 2, 2018
Tea:
Tough session for England as India head into tea in control at 126-4 but will be disappointed having lost their talismanic skipper Virat Kohli who was dismissed by Moeen Ali.
The visitors are 119 runs away with Hardik Pandya and Ajinkya Rahane at the helm. However, Joe Root and co have got a sniff back into the game with the dismissal of Kohli.
India 125-4 after 52 overs:
CAUGHT! The umpire raises his finger and England celebrate. Tossed up, Kohli gets a bit of glove while defending which makes contact with the pad before heading to Cook at short leg. The India skipper goes for the review but UltraEdge signals a slight nick coming from the glove.
Uh oh, big blow just before tea. Moeen gets Kohli and England can conceal their glee. He’s put India on the path to a win tho. Can the others measure up?
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) September 2, 2018
India 114-3 after 48 overs:
FIFTY! Virat Kohli reaches yet another half-century and carries on his stellar run. Becomes the first Indian captain to score 500 plus runs in an away Test series.
That's 19th Test fifty for India captain @imVkohli and he is marshalling the chase with Ajinkya Rahane. #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/RDjlQx4ZEN
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 2, 2018
It is just a half-century yet but already one that Kohli can be very proud of
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 2, 2018
India 104-3 after 43 overs:
HUNDRED UP! Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane steer India past the 100-run mark. What a turnaround this.
Brilliant Test Cricket ... 2 high class players fighting it out on a pitch offering plenty ... Bloody love this format ... Still prefer to be in England’s camp !!! #Just #EngvInd
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) September 2, 2018
India 74-3 after 35 overs:
Fifty partnership comes up between Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane. Can they convert it into something big?
India 60-3 after 25 overs:
England lose another LBW review against Virat Kohli after the impact of Moeen Ali's delivery is outside off stump. No more reviews left for the hosts now.
Lunch:
India face a mammoth task to chase a target of 245 runs, having lost three wickets at lunch as the scoreboard reads 46-3. Stuart Broad drew first blood for England with the wicket of KL Rahul before James Anderson piled more pressure with the dismissals of Cheteshwar Pujara and Shikhar Dhawan.
Having revived the visitors after the early blow, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane will aim to turn things around with a big partnership.
46-3 at Lunch - Great work from the bowlers!
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 2, 2018
What did you think of the Kohli shout?
Watch here:
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India 42-3 after 18 overs:
OH NO! Joe Root is furious as England lose a LBW review against Virat Kohli off a delivery by Moeen Ali. The bat clipped the pad but the third umpire ruled it out because of an inside edge.
India 23-3 after 9 overs:
WICKET! India in deep, deep trouble now as Ben Stokes takes a stunner to get rid of Shikhar Dhawan. Pitched full by Anderson, luring the opener forward as he edges one towards Stokes at gully.
Good Evening India ....
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) September 2, 2018
India 18-2 after 8 overs:
WICKET! James Anderson gets the big fish as Cheteshwar Pujara is given out LBW. Pitched outside off and swings into the batsman who is struck on the back leg. Wickets are umpire's call and its a big blow for the visitors.
Pujara falls early. Only a Kohli masterpiece stands between England and victory now, one reckons..
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) September 2, 2018
India 9-1 after 4 overs:
BOWLED! Stuart Broad is charged up and England have got the start they needed. Length ball, swings into KL Rahul and stays low. The batsman fails to get his bat down in time and departs for a 7-ball duck.
3rd innings:
A target of 245 runs stands in the way of India as they aim to keep the five-match Test series alive after bowling out England for 271 on day 4 of the Southampton Test on Sunday.
After finding themselves at 122-5 with Virat Kohli and co enjoying a narrow lead of 21 runs, the hosts fought back well through Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Sam Curran to finish earlier at 260-8 at stumps.
However, Mohammed Shami gave India the start they needed with the wicket of Stuart Broad before a Sam Curran run-out ensured they got the job done early.
The morning has started well for India. All set up now. 245 to get. I think it is gettable.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 2, 2018
England 271-10 after 96.1 overs:
WICKET! Sam Curran is run out as England are bundled out for 272, India need 245 runs to win.
England 260-9 after 92 overs:
WICKET! Shami strikes on the first ball of Day 4. Round the wicket and full, Broad stretches forward and nicks one towards Pant.
Preview:
While the batsmen will be facing a tough task, the task for the Indian bowlers will be cut out – to wrap up England innings at the earliest – on Day four of the fourth Test at the Ageas Bowl here on Sunday as the overnight batsman Sam Curran, and Stuart Broad and James Anderson will be pushing to stretch England’s lead past 270-run mark.
Although the Indian bowlers did not bowl badly, the resistance from Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and India’s nemesis with the bat in the ongoing series, Curran, played vital roles as England pushed England’s lead to 233 runs at stumps on Day three of the Test.
Match-timing:
The match is scheduled to start at 3.30 P.M. IST.
Live telecast:
The live telecast of the match will be available on Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony Ten and Sony Ten HD.
Live streaming:
The live streaming of the match will be available on Sony Liv app.
