England vs India: 1st Test Match, End of Day Four.
India: 167-3 at close of play. 128 runs ahead.
England’s hopes of victory received a huge boost on day four of the First Test against India as Joe Root and James Anderson put on a miraculous 198 for the final wicket: a world record tenth wicket partnership.
England started the penultimate day of the test on 352-9, 105 runs behind the Indians, but Root and Anderson picked up where they’d left off from last night as they added 144 onto their partnership and England’s score as the hosts were bowled out for 496 and 39 runs ahead of their opponents.
Yorkshireman Root finished the Innings 154 not out and Anderson, nicknamed “The Burnley Express”, was out for 81, his highest test score and his maiden test Fifty. Anderson ended his 130 Innings wait for a Test Fifty and in the process became the man to complete the most Innings before a maiden Test Fifty.
India began their response in their second innings and ended the day on 167-3, 128 runs ahead. However, England were given a glimmer of hope as Pujara and Vijay, on 55 and 52 respectively, were dismissed c Stokes b Plunkett and c Prior b Ali, the part-time spinner adding to his earlier dismissal of Dhawan, in quick succession. Those two wickets mean that if England can dismiss India for a small number of runs tomorrow and leave themselves a chaseable target then, notwithstanding yet another batting collapse, England could pick up a surprise win.
How were Root and Anderson able to bat for so long? MS Dhoni and India were very poor tactically. India did not bring on a spinner until well after the start of the day’s play and allowed the batsmen to get themselves in with very few true wicket-taking deliveries being bowled at them.
Root was presented with a very defensive field, whereas Anderson, being a tailender, was given a field with nobody on the boundary, meaning whenever a hittable ball was bowled Anderson had an easy chance to score a boundary. Root was hogging the strike and perhaps could’ve taken more singles seeing as Anderson was batting so well but had one offered anyone involved with England Cricket the chance to be in the lead at the end of their innings following the typical middle-order collapse they would’ve bitten your arm off.
England bowled well in the third innings and were perhaps unlucky not to get a few more wickets but should they bowl at their very best on the final day then there really is a chance for them to finally win a test match again.
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