India has repeatedly faltered from winning positions throughout the ongoing series, allowing England to stage crucial comebacks time and again.
Rain Halts Day 4 as England Inches Closer to Series Win, India Faces Familiar Pressure
Rain and poor light brought an early end to Day 4 of the fifth and final Test in London, leaving England needing just 35 runs to secure victory over India. Meanwhile, India requires four wickets—three if injured pacer Chris Woakes does not bat—to keep the series alive. A loss would mean England clinches the series 3-1, a disappointing outcome for the visitors.
Throughout the series, India has repeatedly held winning positions but faltered late as England mounted resilient comebacks. The pattern has repeated itself in this final Test, where a strong all-round batting effort—including a century from Yashasvi Jaiswal and solid half-centuries by Akash Deep, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar—set a challenging target of 374 runs. Yet, India now finds itself once again on the brink of defeat.
Sunil Gavaskar’s brutal verdict
Speaking on Sony Sports Network, Sunil Gavaskar delivered a blunt assessment of India’s showing in the ongoing five-match series.
“Overall, if you add up all the games, it’s a bit like that — one team has won more games, the other more sets,” he said. “You could say that, but at the end of the day, it’s the result that matters. Unless India win this game and level the series, you have to admit that England are the better team. It doesn’t matter how many sessions you’ve won,” he added.
Day 4 witnessed Harry Brook and Joe Root engineer a strong England comeback. Brook narrowly missed a century after playing a risky shot off the toe-end of his bat, which led to his dismissal and allowed India back into the contest. Root did reach his century but was soon caught edging a delivery from Prasidh Krishna. Jacob Bethell was also dismissed trying to attack the bowler. These late breakthroughs gave renewed hope, and with rain and poor light stopping play, the bowlers will be fresh and ready for an intense Day 5.