Ravi Jadeja finally provided India with some lower order impetus with a fluent 89* to leave India in with a sniff of pulling of a consolation win in the final Test at the Oval. Resuming on 174-6, debutant Vihari again rode his luck in completing his maiden Test 50 but was finally dismissed by Moeen Ali. England had the chance to wrap up the Indian innings earlier but Bumrah was dropped at silly point by Jennings and Jadeja was able to bludgeon a further 32 runs to cut England's 1st innings lead to just 40.
In reply, England made a steady start until Jennings was once again dismissed shouldering arms, this time to the impressive Shami. Moeen Ali made a gritty 20 before he was bowled by the inspired Jadeja but England's 2 senior men in Cook and Root stood firm with the former left unbeaten on 46, having guided England to a lead of 154 in his final Test innings.
Analysis of the Day's Play
Is Jadeja the kind of fighter that India have missed all summer?
I wrote in a recent blog to show how influential England's lower order has been in comparison to India's throughout the series. Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes have all played innings that have swung the game in England's favour throughout the summer whereas India's innings have generally folded pretty quickly once their much vaunted top 5 is dismissed. However, today that wasn't the case, as Ravi Jadeja quickly set about reducing England's lead with a typically swash buckling innings. Jadeja is no stranger to this England team who will know all too well what a great competitor he is. Starting the day so far behind England, it was that kind of competitive nature that India really needed to keep themselves in the game. Jadeja cut and slashed the ball behind square for most of his first 50 runs but the fun really started when he was joined by number 11 Jasprit Bumrah, including one mighty 6 straight back over his old friend James Anderson's head. The innings and the character of the man reminded me very much of the kind of impact that Sam Curran has had on this series and leaves Indian supporters wondering what might have been had they have got this street fighter into the 11 a little early.......
Indeed in just half a match Jadeja is just 40 runs and 6 wickets behind what Ravi Ashwin managed in 4 Tests and I wouldn't put it past the man to wipe out those deficits by the end of the game. It's always difficult with a player like Ashwin as you feel that he has too much quality to fail consistently but on the evidence of these performances, did India give Ashwin one game too many? I also mentioned yesterday that this series has been played in pretty good spirits throughout. Without wanting to slander Jadeja's character he does have a way of getting under opposition players' skin. This was evident by the very long hard look that Jos Buttler was caught giving Jadeja as he swung his bat around in celebration this morning - worth checking out on the below video.
Superb Shami goes unrewarded again
The India pace unit in general has shown that they are a force to be reckoned with in any conditions and on any pitch this summer. Perhaps Indian fans can correct me, but I don't think I've ever seen a pace attack with so much speed, skill and accuracy come out of India before. However, for me the jewel in the crown remains Mohammed Shami. His skill and control in swinging and seaming the ball in either direction is second only to Jimmy Anderson in this series. His wrist is incredibly supple and yet equally strong, allowing him to deliver the ball with a perfect seam position. He has a smooth, fast action which I can imagine will have surprised many batsman as he bustles through the crease, getting the ball onto them a little sooner than they expected.
Today, he was bowling around the wicket and from a very wide on the crease to both of England's left-handed openers creating an angle into them and them straightening towards the slips. How he didn't find the edge is beyond me. In the last over before tea alone, he beat Cook's outside edge with 4 consecutive deliveries with Cook finally finding the middle of the bat to the final ball of the session and sending down a big beaming smile towards the bowler in recognition that he had just been too good up until that point. The fact that Shami just took in his stride, marched back to his mark and did the same thing over and over again speaks volumes about his attitude and his physical fitness which has come into question in recent times. In fact, it would have been interesting to see whether Shami would have been in the starting 11 had Bumrah and B Kumar been fit to play all the games on this tour. Assuming that B Kumar does regain fitness, will Shami still be in the side when India play in Australia later this year?
Shami did finally get his break through by completely bamboozling the hapless Keaton Jennings who was out yet again playing no shot. Once more it was Shami from wide of the crease around the wicket but this time instead of straightening the ball, he brought it back into the batsman and clipped the top of middle and off stump. My feeling is that if Cook wasn't retiring after this game then Jennings would not be going on tour this winter but with so few options at the top of the order, England will struggle to fill just one spot on the plane to Sri Lanka, let alone two.
Is Pant a bit pants?
The youngster has not had an easy introduction into Test Match cricket and will hope that he has done enough to continue in the team for when they find themselves in more familiar home surroundings. However, it's not just Pant's batting that needs some improvement but also his keeping as he has let through 65 byes in the last 4 innings alone. When you consider that in that same period he has contributed just 23 runs then it appears that he is already in serious arrears so soon in his fledging career. Just like any all-rounder, wicket keepers performances with one of their primary skills often drives the other. I'm sure that Pant can and will go on to be a successful batsman and keeper for India but on the evidence of the 3 Tests he's played so far then he has a lot of work to do.
The keeper's position in the side has been given even more importance in the modern game since the introduction of Hawkeye and DRS. Most captains around the world will regularly turn to the man directly behind the stumps to get a good idea of whether a tight LBW call is worth reviewing. Matt Prior used to be excellent at it for England and Jonny Bairstow is getting pretty good with experience too. Today, the 20 year old Pant was at fault for at least the 1st of India's wasted reviews as the ball clearly struck the batsman outside the line of off-stump with Pant incorrectly suggesting to his captain that it had hit Cook on the calf when in fact it had hit him flush on the ankle. Whether Pant genuinely thought it was out or whether the pressure of Kohli and Jadjea (the bowler at the time) convinced him to go for it anyway is irrelevant. Pant must improve both his decision making and be confident to stand up for his opinion in the face of over enthusiastic captains and bowlers if he is to succeed at this level. Do you think Pant will keep the gloves for India's next Test?
England's strong position but India not out of it yet
Finishing the day with just 2 wickets down and a lead of 154 runs puts England in pole position to win this game. Much will depend on one or both of the batsmen at the crease going on to get a big score. For Cook, it would be a fairytale fair well, while for Root it would be a welcome return to form if he could get 3 figures. With England's stroke makers in Bairstow, Stokes, Buttler and Curran to come, the scene could be set for some attacking play later in the day as England look to push their lead beyond 300 and set India a very challenging total batting last. However, with the ball having consistently swung throughout the game and with Jadeja finding enough spin to trouble the batsmen then it is still not impossible that India take 3 or 4 quick wickets to haul themselves back into the match. It has been that kind of a series throughout so you would be a brave man to bet on this gaming finishing without a few plot twists along the way. Can India get the quick wickets they need tomorrow morning or will England work their way up to a 300+ lead?
Enjoy Jadeja's big hitting and extreme celebration, Shami's brilliant swing bowling and Cook's final innings in Test cricket on the below video
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