Pope, Woakes give England edge in tight Test tussle

Two days into the fourth Test of a five-match series and still little separates England and India.

England eked out a first-innings lead of 99 runs thanks to half-centuries by recalled players Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes in a total of 290, a strong recovery considering the team was reeling at 5-62 at one stage at The Oval.

India's openers were faced with a tough last hour to negotiate as shadows lengthened across the south London venue but they survived, with Rohit Sharma on 20, KL Rahul on 22 and India closing on 0-43 after 16 overs.

India trail by 56 runs but the match remains too close to call with three days to go.

Resuming on 3-53 and quickly losing nightwatchman Craig Overton (1) and Dawid Malan (31), England was thankful to Pope for anchoring crucial stands of 89 runs with Jonny Bairstow (37) and 71 runs with Moeen Ali (35) to creep ahead of India's meagre day one total of 191.

Pope, making his first appearance of the series, reached his first Test fifty in his past 15 innings but fell short of converting it into only his second Test century when he departed for 81, bowled by Shardul Thakur.

However, a 60-ball 50 by Woakes, a great batting option who came in at No. 9 after Overton's elevation as nightwatchman, added crucial late-innings runs to frustrate India.

The seamer has made an impressive return to the England team after more than a year away because of COVID-related reasons and then injury, having also taken figures of 4-55 to help bowl out India cheaply.

There was no top-order collapse in the second innings, though, with Sharma and Rahul looking compact and solid on a pitch that is looking better and better to bat on.

There were only a couple of chances for England, notably when Sharma edged Jimmy Anderson into the cordon but Rory Burns – at second slip – was unable to make the catch, saying a low sun was in his eyes. 

Both openers had inside edges that just missed the stumps but they survived in the face of some tame offerings by England's pace attack in the final overs.

The tailenders have been crucial for both teams so far at The Oval.

Thakur's blistering 57, off just 36 balls, enabled India to post a competitive total from a perilous position of 7-127 in their first innings, while Woakes' sixth Test half-century propelled England to what amounted to a decent lead in a low-scoring match.

The pitch at The Oval is notoriously slow to deteriorate, so India can be confident of a good track on day three before spin becomes more of an option.