17 CLASSIFIEDS MONDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 2021 Sport MONDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 2021 18 Openers give England strong start to daunting chase at Oval

REUTERS – LONDON stumps, while Burns was on 31 but the tourists recovered after losing three Woakes trapped Jadeja lbw for 17 Both batsmen, however, fell in suc- home side will need to pull off some- , including Virat Kohli, and, in his next over, sent back Ajinkya cessive overs -- Thakur edging Root England made a strong start to their thing special today to accomplish a in the morning session. Rahane for a duck in a similar manner. to slip and Pant giving a return catch pursuit of a daunting 368-run victory record chase. Chris Woakes (3-83) was pick of With left-hander Pant at the crease, to Moeen soon after completing his target against India in the fourth Test, Earlier, India’s number eight the English bowlers again, claiming a Root introduced , who got fifty. which appeared delicately poised batsman Shardul Thakur smashed his match haul of seven wickets to go with Kohli (44) caught at slip six runs shy of Yadav clobbered a couple of sixes, heading into the final day at the Oval second fifty of the match and Rishabh his breezy 50 in the first innings of what could have been the batsman’s while Bumrah smashed four bound- yesterday. Pant his first of the series to help India what is his first Test in 12 months. third fifty in as many innings. aries against a jaded English attack. Openers Haseeb Hameed and Rory post 466, the highest total of the series. After India resumed on 270-3, Thakur had smashed a 36-ball 57 ENGLAND: 290 and 77 for 0 Burns guided England to 77 for no loss The 100-run partnership between England captain Joe Root brought back in the first innings and he followed with (Hameed 43*, Burns 31*) need 291 more at stumps with the hosts needing 291 Thakur and Pant was followed by Woakes to end Kohli’s 59-run stand a relatively restrained 60, which runs to beat INDIA: 191 and 466 (Rohit runs to go 2-1 up in the five-Test series. cameos from tailenders Umesh Yadav with , and the seamer included a towering six off Ollie 127, Pujara 61, Thakur 60, Pant 50, Hameed was on 43 at (25) and Jasprit Bumrah (24) as the responded with two quick wickets. Robinson. Woakes 3-83)