Drama in the most dramatic of series isn't over yet!
For the better part of Day 4 of the fifth Test, Joe Root and Harry Brook, partnering for 195 runs for the fourth wicket, seemed to have sewn up the game and the series for England --- then, in an extraordinary passage of play, England lost Brook, Jacob Bethell and Root in 14.2 overs, for 36 runs.
Prasidh Krishna took two of the three wickets, in nine balls; Akash Deep, ineffective through the day --- and, indeed, most of the Test --- removed Brook.
Suddenly, the rose-strewn path Root and Brook had paved turned into a minefield --- India's bowlers and fielders, visibly dispirited and exhausted before that, suddenly had a spring in their step.
No. 7 Jamie Smith and No. 8 Jamie Overton seemed outwardly calm, but they must have had butterflies in their stomach --- every ball they faced seemed to carry a message of doom.
Then, anti-climax --- the skies darkened and rain came down pelting. The players rushed off, with England just 35 short of a magnificent win, and India four wickets away from a victory that would give them a deserved 2-2 series tie.
At 6.10 in the evening, then, on what promised to be the final day of the series, The Oval was bathed in sunshine -- play had been called off due to rain just minutes previously, and the players would have to return on Monday morning.
England had got the match in a stranglehold when Brook and Root were batting -- they've let the decisive moment slip away, and England must come back on Monday to resume their monumental chase of 374.
India hadn't grabbed the decisive moment too. Mohammed Siraj, eyes wild and theatrical, was part of that decisive moment --- but it was a moment he would love to forget.
England No. 5 Brook, then on 19, hooked Krishna on the first ball of the 35th over. The ball took the bat's edge, flew high and back towards the long-leg boundary, where Siraj caught the ball cleanly --- and promptly back-pedalled on to the boundary padding.
He had just stepped back on the field after taking a break --- if he had had his wits about him, it's possible that he would have lobbed the ball up and high towards the ground, stepped out and stepped back in, and completed the catch. Instead, his momentum turned him around and he stood right in front of the England fans, who screamed their delight into his face.
Siraj covered his face in horror. Krishna, already celebrating Brook's wicket after seeing the ball land in Siraj's hands, went from ecstasy to agony.
Thereafter, swiftly, agony turned to a horrible nightmare as Root and Brook made India suffer.
Brook became even more aggressive, Root milked the bowling with characteristic nonchalance, and runs began to come in a torrent -- when England went to lunch, at 164/3, Brook had raced to 38, adding 58 with Root at over five runs an over.
Shubman Gill, in only his fifth Test as captain, was forced to spread the field due to Brook's belligerence --- and the ineffectiveness of his bowlers. This created spaces for the batsmen to eke out singles and doubles. It became dull and routine, and it seemed that Gill was running out of ideas as victory seemed to get farther and farther away.
From less than 20 percent at the start of play, England's victory probability steadily rose, approaching 90 percent when Brook and Root were in control.
Brook reached his 100 off just 91 balls --- his fourth innings average before Sunday was 18.87, with only one half-century in eight innings.
Root batted the way, well, only he can bat. He was calmness personified, batting in his usual elegant, unhurried manner. He got to his 100 soon after Brook did --- and paid a heartfelt tribute to his mentor Graham Thorpe, who died at age 55 exactly a year ago. Root put on a white headband -- the like of which were on sale at The Oval two days ago to memorialise Thorpe and raise funds (over £150,000) for mental health charities -- and pointed skyward.
Root fell with a lazy waft at a Krishna ball that moved away --- he was disgusted with his error and slapped his bat as he walked away, for he knew that he had allowed India to push the door open.
So, then, we're going into the final day of the final Test --- all the games have ended on the fifth day. Who's ahead? It's too close to call.
England need 35 runs, India four wickets, one of which, Chris Woakes, has his arm in a sling after suffering a dislocated shoulder.
The second new ball would be available in 3.4 overs, and Siraj would want to make it count and win this game.
Drama in the most dramatic of series isn't over yet!
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