India roared back into contention on an exhilarating day two of the fifth and final Test at The Oval on Friday as their seamers restricted England to a 23-run lead.
England gained the upper hand after a rain-hit first day of the final Test against India at The Oval on Thursday
'The wicket was a little spicy, so I was having a lot of fun batting.'
Yashasvi Jaiswal wanted to be more consistent on his first tour of England but drew immense satisfaction from his second-innings ton on a "spicy" pitch at The Oval to help India set a massive 374-run target in the fifth Test.
KL Rahul becomes second India batter after Vengsarkar to score more than one Test ton at Lord's
Joe Root was at the center of an unexpected on-field spat with India's Prasidh Krishna, as tempers flared during a high-stakes second day at The Oval.
His combined figures of 10 for 187 bettered Chetan Sharma's 10 for 188 - a mark set back in 1986.
India are favourites to secure victory and draw the series, but England will still fancy their chances of completing what would be by far the highest successful Test run chase at The Oval.
On Saturday, Indian captain Shubman Gill concluded a record-breaking Birmingham Test against England with breathtaking knocks of 269 and 161 across both innings, making him the batter with the second-highest aggregate of runs in a Test match.
'We want pace on the ball, we want the ball to bounce and we want the ball to carry through so that when we're batting, we can be aggressive, we can attack, and we can put pressure back on the bowlers.'
Batting with a fractured toe, the left-hander embodied the spirit of selflessness - drawing praise from head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Dinesh Karthik and ex-England pace bowling stalwart Stuart Broad weighed in on the fate of the third Test at Lord's, with all possible results still on the cards.
Earlier, after being 0-2 early in their second innings, India continued to battle on to frustrate England on day five, the tourists doing everything possible to keep the series alive on 322-4 at tea.
Atkinson, who is playing his first Test of the series following a hamstring strain, said that he is "ready to push the limits" in case Woakes does not take any further part.
'Look, when someone comes back into the Test side like he does after a lengthy absence, the pressure is always there, and I think he has handled that very well.'
After a cautious start, Crawley and Duckett punished the straying Indian bowlers with an array of crisp boundaries. The pair blunted the new ball and raced to 77 without loss at tea.
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.
Earlier in the day, B Sai Sudharsan has etched his name in Indian cricket history by making his Test debut on June 20.
Images from Day 5 of the fifth Test between England and India at The Oval, London, on Monday.
Even as the conditions changed, bright sunshine alternating with gloom, the Indian batters gritted their teeth and fought it out.
Records tumbled at Lord's as Rishabh Pant, despite an injured finger, blasted his way into the history books
'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.'
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.
Sachin Tendulkar was effusive in his praise for Akash Deep after India's thumping 336-run win at Edgbaston
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.
Images from Day 4 of the fifth Test between England and India at The Oval, London, on Sunday.
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.
Injured wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will bat on day five of the fourth Test, said India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak on Saturday.
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.
Keshav Maharaj on Sunday became the first spinner from South Africa to take 200 Test wickets
'The name on the Honours board feels good. It is something I can tell my son about when he is grown up.'
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.
Jasprit Bumrah takes a fifer at Lord's and goes past Kapil Dev for most five wicket hauls in away Tests.
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.
'I wouldn't bowl to him (Gill) in England, that's for sure.'
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.
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.
'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.'
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
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.
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