England vs India 2021, 4th Test – Who Said What

India locked horns with England in the penultimate Test match of the series at The Oval, London. India bagged the victory by  157 runs in what turned out to be an absolute thriller on day five. Losing the toss once again, Virat Kohli and his men were called out to bat first where none other batsmen apart from Shardul Thakur and Kohli could talk with the bat.

Kohli (50) and Thakur (57) led India to post 191 runs on the board in the first innings. Chris Woakes marked his comeback with a bang as he picked four wickets and got assisted by Ollie Robinson’s three wickets to keep India below 200 runs. Moving to England’s 1^st innings, the home side posted 290 runs on the board on the back of Ollie Pope’s 81 and Woakes’ 50. Umesh Yadav who was given the opportunity in this game bowled beautifully and picked three wickets for India.

India displayed a sheer batting class in the 2nd innings

While India walked up in the 2^nd innings, the story of a complete batting masterclass started where almost every batsman chipped in with vital runs. Rohit Sharma stole the show with his classy century while Cheteshwar Pujara produced 61 runs from his end. The lower order turned up as the cherry on the cake as India posted huge 466 runs on the board.

When the home side walked up for the final chase, they looked adamant enough to either win the game or pull a draw. Opener Burns and Haseeb Hameed built a sturdy stand of 100 runs and put England in a commanding position. However, the Indian bowlers marked an outstanding comeback in the 2^nd session and sent English batters back to the pavilion one after the other. Jasprit Bumrah led the pace attack of India and produced an amazing spell. Umesh Yadav picked three wickets while Bumrah, Shardul, and Jadeja clinched two each.

Winning skipper, Virat Kohli said-

The character that the side has shown, to come back from 100 run deficit showed that we were not down and out. I said at Lord’s as well, I am proud of the character, among the top three bowling performances I have witnessed as India captain. It’s relative what you call flat, field wasn’t wet like the first three days, ball got scuffed up nicely, one side heavier, and exploited reverse swing perfectly. We believed as a team that we could get all ten wickets. 7 runs off 22 overs on this kind of pitch, a huge effort. When it started reversing he just said give me the ball (Jasprit Bumrah). Rohit’s innings was outstanding, but the impact performance from the lower-middle order, Shardul’s fifty was the difference, and a counterattack in the second innings. Looking to restrict us but he was outstanding. We never got towards statistics, we know what we focus on, we take a call on what feels best and we believe we can win Tests with it. Whatever the noise on the outset, it doesn’t bother us. Unfortunate they aren’t here but they just called us. it’s a real momentum boost. We are looking forward to opportunities to step on the field for India. And the fans have been outstanding too (On Ravi Shastri).

Losing skipper, Joe Root said-

Frustrating not to get something rrom the game today, we felt we had an opportunity to win, but credit to India, they got the ball to reverse and that was the turning point. Could have made more of a first-innings lead, and you have to make chances count against world-class players. Got to find ways to get better but be realistic and realise that was world-class bowling. It might reverse at OT, we’ll have to manage it better. Whenever you lose the game you can look at the toss, but we’ve got to be more ruthless, and make that a 200-run lead. Got to be clinical, not be comfy, make big partnerships. We have played good cricket and important to remember that. Looking ahead to the fifth Test, and the wear and tear. Woody is coming good, injuries have been frustrating, but those guys that have had the opportunity have been excellent.

Player of the match, Rohit Sharma said-

I wanted to be on the field as much as I could. That hundred was special. We know how important was the second innings. Virat just mentioned the effort from the batsmen, and as a unit it was really important. It’s my first overseas hundred. Really glad that I could get the team in an important position. There was pressure after that 100-run trail. Once we got the lead, we just wanted to put pressure on the bowlers. I try to contribute for the team, it’s important for me. I know the importance of opening the innings. I am glad I could make it coun