With two days still to play, England are firm favourites to secure the win in Manchester, one that would seal victory in the five-match series with one test still to come.
'We thought they deserved a century there (about the decision to not shake hands). Every match going till the last session on the last day.'
Even as the conditions changed, bright sunshine alternating with gloom, the Indian batters gritted their teeth and fought it out.
Images from Day 5 of the fifth Test between England and India at The Oval, London, on Monday.
After hundreds upon hundreds of runs on flat tracks in the ongoing series so far, it took the green top at The Oval to finally produce the best day of the Indian summer, on the fifth and last Friday of the Test series.
Images from Day 4 of the fifth Test between England and India at The Oval, London, on Sunday.
Injured wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will bat on day five of the fourth Test, said India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak on Saturday.
A 2-2 series result seems fair, for a 1-3 loss would have been cruelly unjust --- especially to Siraj, who bowled 185.3 overs in the series for 23 wickets and never seemed to give up belief.
Keshav Maharaj on Sunday became the first spinner from South Africa to take 200 Test wickets
India pacer Prasidh Krishna relished the banter with 'good mate' Joe Root on Day 2 of the fifth and final Test, and said riling up England's batting mainstay was part of the team's plans.
Shubman Gill was "extremely proud" of the fight that his team put up after being down and out but rued the absence of one fifty partnership and Rishabh Pant's first innings run-out in their 22-run defeat against England in the third Test at the Lord's.
'The name on the Honours board feels good. It is something I can tell my son about when he is grown up.'
Jasprit Bumrah takes a fifer at Lord's and goes past Kapil Dev for most five wicket hauls in away Tests.
'I wouldn't bowl to him (Gill) in England, that's for sure.'
Former England captain Michael Vaughan feels Zak Crawley's time-wasting tactics at the end of the third day in the ongoing third Test was "as good a piece" he has ever seen, but said India can't complain as the visitors employed the same approach on the second day at Lord's.
It was a dramatic end to day three of the third Test with opener Zak Crawley using the delaying tactic to ensure England only played one over
India skipper Shubman Gill on Wednesday said that levelling the five-match Test series in England would be a "great achievement" and he would return from his first assignment as captain a lot wiser.
Yashasvi Jaiswal enhanced his reputation as an all-conditions opener with a gutsy hundred on a tough pitch before Washington Sundar's whirlwind fifty allowed India to set a record 374-run target for England on an absorbing Day 3 of the final Test at The Oval on Saturday.
While Vantika, Harika and Vaishali have an uphill task in the first set of tie-break games, they can still make it to the round of 16.
India lost their openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and K L Rahul on a green top but did well to reach 72 for two at lunch on Day 1 of the series-deciding fifth Test against England at The Oval, London, on Thursday.
Joe Root was on 36 and digging in when Mohammed Siraj angled one in that rapped him square on the pads. The Indians went up in unison. But umpire Paul Reiffel stood his ground.
'He leads a lot of actions. And in this series so far, he's done it with the ball at times that we've needed somebody to put his hand up and create something.'
England lead 2-1 in the series and victory at Old Trafford would seal it.
There is less seam movement at Edgbaston compared to Leeds: Jaiswal
Images from Day 2 of the fifth Test between England and India at The Oval, London, on Friday.
Needing 7 to win, Siraj is given the ball and who better than Mr Lion Heart to script India's narrowest win in Test cricket. It takes Siraj a stinging yorker to send Atkinson's stumps flying -- the ball hitting low on the off stump.
Opener K L Rahul expressed disappointment as India failed to gain a lead against England on Day 3 of the third Test of the five-match series at 'Home of Cricket', Lord's, on Saturday.
Ben Stokes acknowledged that missed opportunities early in the match allowed India to take firm control of the second Test at Edgbaston
Akash Deep dedicated his stellar performance in the second Test to his sister, who has been battling cancer for the past two months.
'It felt like you had to force the ball through, which in England were are not used to -- you usually get rewards for your cuts and clips.'
I would hope that India stick by him, at least another couple of games, just to give him a run at No.3, feels former England captain Michael Vaughan.
South Africa completed an innings and 236-run victory over hosts Zimbabwe on the third day of the second Test on Tuesday to convincingly sweep the two-match series.
'Bring the deficit down to about 60 and then take it 10 runs at a time.'
Pant's effort earned accolades from Tendulkar, who lauded the wicketkeeper-batter's paddle sweep.
'If you get to the point where you can draw the game, of course, we're not stupid enough to think that you have to just win or lose.'
Jaiswal Blazes, Gill Leads: India's Young Guns Dominate Opening Day
England were comfortably placed at 225 for two at stumps after bowling out India for 358 on the second day of the fourth Test in Manchester on Thursday.
Captain Shubman Gill and the ever-dependable K L Rahul gave India a glimmer of hope with resilient half-centuries after a well crafted hundred from Ben Stokes extended England's supremacy in the fourth Test in Manchester on Saturday.
Former cricketers Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton lampooned England's top order for their early collapse
After a poor show by the lower-order batters in the first Leeds Test, Team India scripted a memorable comeback at Birmingham - one for the history books
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances