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.
With Jasprit Bumrah crafting chances by the dozen, a spate of dropped sitters, including three by Yashasvi Jaiswal, handed England a lifeline and drew scathing remarks from Stuart Broad and Sunil Gavaskar.
Michael Vaughan wasted no time reigniting his playful rivalry with Wasim Jaffer - a duo known for their sharp-witted exchanges on X.
On a tense Day 4 at The Oval, the England batter blazed his way to a 98-ball century, dragging his team back into the contest and into the history books.
Left-arm spinner Liam Dawson returned to England Test set up after a gap of eight years, replacing injured Shoaib Bashir in the squad for the fourth Test against India.
The five-match Test series against India at home will be a massive Test for England's 'Bazball' brand of cricket under skipper Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum.
England head coach Brendon McCullum believes India have arrived well-prepared and full of belief for the upcoming five-match Test series
Fired-up England reduced India to 58/4 chasing 193 for victory in a highly-charged final session on day four on Sunday as a gripping third Test at Lord's.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 1st Test between England and India at Headingley in Leeds on Saturday.
Group A includes defending champions India, Pakistan, UAE and Oman, while Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Hong Kong are in Group B.
England batsman Harry Brook said the tension with Indian players during the third Test at Lord's was fun and put the visitors under added pressure as England secured a dramatic 22-run victory and a 2-1 lead in the series.
He has taken nine five-wicket hauls in SENA conditions.
British media reports said all 10 English players involved with the IPL will hold a meeting with the Professional Cricketers' Association over security arrangements for a potential return to India.
Mohammed Siraj credited fellow seamer Akash Deep for playing a big role in his six-wicket haul during Day 3 of the second Test against England in Birmingham.
Images from Day 4 of the second Test between England and India at Edgbaston, in Birmingham, on Saturday.
Yashasvi Jaiswal entered the first Test against England at Headingley with a sparkling century. He exited it under intense scrutiny - not for his batting, but for a torrid time in the slip cordon.
Rishabh Pant, who hit two centuries in the Headingley Test, now trails top-ranked batter Joe Root by just 88 points.
Gavaskar didn't mince words as he tore into India's sub-par work in the field, both in terms of dropped chances and overall outfielding.
The 30-year-old has played 22 ODIs and 17 Twenty20 Internationals, scoring 1,058 and 412 runs, respectively. He has also played in 32 tests, scoring 2,270 runs.
India unravelled on Day 2 of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, their bowling plans in disarray and tactical calls under scrutiny.
"Came here to give myself every chance to play just as batter": Stokes after being ruled out of Oval Test
Star Sports, the official broadcasters in India, tweeted a clip of Brook playing mind games with Krishna.
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.
In vintage Bumrah fashion, the damage was quiet but clinical and unmistakably game-changing.
Prasidh Krishna has the ability to bowl "magic balls" and the pacer needs to be given an extended run to serve India for a long time, said bowling coach Morne Morkel in London on Sunday.
England had moved to within 35 runs of securing a famous victory over India when bad light and torrential rain ended an extraordinary fourth day of the final Test at The Oval on Sunday.
Commentators speculated the injury might be a fracture, though the extent of the damage remains unconfirmed.
Ahead of England's five-match Test series against India at home, head coach Brendon McCullum hailed young all-rounder Jacob Bethell
Jamie Overton returns to the Test line-up for the first time since earning his sole cap against New Zealand at Headingley in June 2022.
As England and India gear up for the final showdown in the five-match series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval, former England speedster Stuart Broad feels the hosts should make some changes to their Playing XI and rest tearaway Jofra Archer.
Glenn McGrath said his prediction this time is based on how England were held to a 2-2 series draw by India in the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy five-Test series.
Coming off a commanding 336-run win at Edgbaston, Team India not only ended their winless streak at the historic venue, but also levelled the five-match series 1-1 in stunning fashion thanks to Shubman Gill's twin hundreds and a rousing spell from pacer Akash Deep.
India's batters Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar refused England skipper Ben Stokes' offer to call off the fourth Test and settle for a draw before the start of the final hour of play.
Shubman Gill's aggressive behaviour during the Lord's Test came as a surprise to many, including former Australia captain Ricky Ponting.
Shubman Gill admits India needs to relook lower-order batting after loss in 1st Test
'We cannot say suddenly that Crawley and Pope have solved the technical and mental issues that have dogged their careers because the Zimbabwe bowling was so average.'
India all-rounder Shardul Thakur on Thursday lauded Rishabh Pan't "unmatched" courage and pain threshold after the latter came out to bat on day two of the fourth Test against England with a broken foot.
Ganguly said he would have preferred Arshdeep over Prasidh Krishna.
Former cricketers Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton lampooned England's top order for their early collapse
Washington Sundar's double strike pegged England back in the afternoon session, leaving them struggling 175/6 at tea on Day 4 of the third Test, at Lord's.
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