In the first Test of the series at Headingley, England pulled off a remarkable victory by chasing a massive target of 371 runs. Now the question is — can Ben Stokes’ team finish the series in a similar fashion?
To win the final Test of the series at The Oval, England must now chase an even bigger target of 374 runs, which would require making history. No team has ever chased such a high total in the fourth innings at this venue. At the end of the day, England were 50 for 1, with Ben Duckett unbeaten on 34.
Earlier, India’s second innings ended on 396 runs. Despite trailing by 23 runs in the first innings, India managed to set a lead of 373 runs, presenting England with a daunting target.
The highest successful run chase at this historic South London ground came back in 1902, when England chased down 263 runs. Since then, no team has managed to chase more than 250 to win here.
If England win this Test, they will clinch the series 3-1 and lift the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at home. On the other hand, India must win this match to draw the series.
India’s huge score was largely due to Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored a brilliant 118 in the second innings. He started the day on 51 runs, and went on to build a 107-run partnership with Akash Deep, who contributed 66 runs.
However, Shubman Gill fell LBW for just 11, missing the opportunity to break the record for most runs by an Indian in a single Test series by just 20 runs. Sunil Gavaskar had scored 774 runs in 1971, while Gill ended on 754.
Toward the end of the innings, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, and Washington Sundar pushed India’s total forward.
