ENG 339/6 in 76.2 Overs (Trail by 35 Runs) at Stumps | India vs England Highlights of 5th Test 2025 Day 4: Game Remains Hanging In Balance As Umpires Call-Off Game For Remainder of Session

Oh! the game keeps giving. Early stumps have been called and the game goes on Day 5 with England needing 35 runs and still having four wickets up their sleeves. Although the rain seems to have stopped, there is lot of water on the covers and the dark clouds till hover around. Umpires concluded no play was possible on Day 4 anymore and the game goes to Day 5, the 25th day of the series!. 

Not the best time for rain to get heavy here. But it is pelting down and more covers are coming on the square. The pitch and the square both are now covered. India will be happier as their fast bowlers will now get some rest and also some moisture can seep in on the pitch making it move a bit more. England on the other hand with want the momentum to break for India. Although the break is going to be longer with the rain around. 

Oh! Bad moment for a pause in the game. Fans wait in anticipation for the final moments of the Test match as Umpires call the players off due to dark cloud covers and bad light. For the last few overs, England has been only surviving and they have barely got any runs. They have lost two big wickets rather quickly and this has piled pressure on them. Indian bowlers are bowling their heart out. Now they will have to wait for the resumption. 

Out! That is the big wicket of Joe Root and India still remain alive in the game. For the last few overs the Indian bowlers were troubling the England batters and despite many close chances they were not paying off. Finally they get the wicket they were looking for. Prasidh Krishna keeps the ball on good length, it kicks off a little and Root gets a tickle on the way to the hands of Dhruv Jurel who takes a good catch. The game remains alive. Root c Dhruv Jurel b Prasidh 105(152).

Out! India stay alive in the game. Half of the England side is now dismissed and their is still 42 runs to get for them. Jacob Bethell has finally ended his own misery as he got cleaned up by Prasidh Krishna. He was suffocated for runs and he threw the kitchen sink at Krishna. Only got an underedge which uprooted his middle stumps. Jacob Bethell b Prasidh 5(31).

Hundred! Joe Root delivers when it mattered the most. At this point Root and runs and have become an inevitability. Came out to bat when England were under real pressure and he just entered the zone and anchored the entire innings when Brook was going hammer and tonks. The ability to find easy runs when good bowling is going on makes him more threatening. 39th Test century for the star England batter and he will look to see off the chase. 

As mentioned before the session after lunch on Day 4 was set to be the deciding session and England have stepped up in that session. They have scored 153 runs at the loss of only a single wicket which was the freakish dismissal of Harry Brook. Brook scored a phenomenal hundred as he kept playing his strokes while Joe Root at the other end anchored the innings. India looked helpless at one point until they got Root's wicket. They still have some runs to play and will have to give everything in the last session to make England slip up. Meanwhile, Joe Root is on 98* at the end of the session. 

Out! Is there a twist in the tale? India have finally found an opening. Can be said against the run of play as Harry Brook is finally dismissed. Brook has been absolutely demolishing the bowlers and he charged at Akash Deep. Unfortunately the ball hit him high on the bat and he lost his grip on it, the ball skied to the hands of the mid-off fielder who took a simple catch. India have to make the opening bigger here.  Brook c Siraj b Akash Deep 111(98).

Century! Harry Brook delivers under pressure. England were in a spot of bother when he came out on the crease. Brook had to change something and he did by charging at the bowlers. Got one life but then maximised it to the fullest, injecting momentum to the innings and now he has converted it into a hundred, powering England into a comfortable position as well. This is his tenth Test century. 

The Indian seamers have bowled some long spells now and in the fifth wicket England have build a partnership of more than hundred runs now. The game is drifting and Shubman Gill will want to change something very fast. He tried a few overs out of Washington Sundar, but they ended up to be expensive. Akash Deep has been bowling with Dhruv Jurel up on the stumps. England looking to cash on the momentum. A crucial phase of game upcoming. Amid this, Joe Root completes his half-century. 

A rather fast moving and chaotic first session and it is difficult to find a winner from that first session. India will be slightly happier as they could dismiss a dangerous Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope and England are still 210 runs away from the target. They would have been happier if Mohammed Siraj didn't step on the boundary line and grabbed Harry Brook's catch but some attacking batting from the later has added some crucial runs to the score. Indian bowlers are strongly in the game and the second session can be a decider. 

Out! India keeps chipping on the wickets and England find themselves in trouble. Captain Ollie Pope now departs and the hosts still haaave a mountain to climb. Mohammed Siraj sets him up with the outgoing deliveries and then brings one back to strike Pope on the pads. It was flush in front of the stumps and the Umpire adjudged him LBW. Even the DRS couldn't reverse the decision. Pope lbw b Siraj 27(34).

Out! India's bowling plans pay off. They get the big wicket of Ben Duckett. Prasidh Krishna comes round the wicket to Duckett and pitches it up on driving length. Duckett gets lured in and edges it to the hands of the second slip. Big wicket in context of the game. Duckett c Rahul b Prasidh 54(83).

India have came out with a plan for England and since the start they have now allowed them to get away with quick runs. They have kept things really tight and looked to create chances, specially Mohammed Siraj has troubled Ben Duckett with angles. England keeps toiling while India loook to get an opening. Amid this Duckett completes his half-century. 

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of Day 4 of the India vs England fifth Test match at Oval. In all probabilities, this will be the last day of what has been a thrilling and exciting series so far. England are 50/1 chasing 374 and need 324 with eight wickets in hand as Chris Woakes will not bat. Stay tuned for live score updates and commentary.