On Day 4 of the fifth and final Test match in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 at The Oval in London, Akash Deep gave India a ray of hope by packing the dangerous Harry Brook on the stroke of tea. But because of Harry Brook and Joe Root’s counterattacking combination, England is the frontrunner.
After Jamie Smith (80 balls) and Ben Duckett (88 balls), Harry Brook reached his century off just 91 balls, making him the third-quickest England batter to do so against India in Test matches. He was Deep’s first victim of the fourth innings, though, a few overs later.
Harry Brook tried to give himself some space when he stepped out to a ball that was just a little bit short on off-stump.
He only succeeded in slicing the ball instead of slapping it over the covers. The ball swelled up towards the off-side, and his bat sailed towards the leg-side. Having lost Brook while batting on 19, Mohammed Siraj made no mistake this time, moving to his left at mid-off and making the catch with ease.
After hitting 111 off 98 deliveries, including two sixes and 14 fours, Brook’s innings was over. With aggressive batting straight out of the ‘Bazball’ textbook, he and Joe Root amassed 195 runs, destroying the Indian spinners.
England is on the verge of tea.
At Tea on Day 4, England scored at a run rate of 4.80 and easily reached 317/4 in 66 overs. In the last session, Root, who is undefeated at 98, will try to reach his 39th Test century. The Three Lions can win the Test match and win the series with just 57 more runs.
Jacob Bethell, who has been restless during his 11-ball stay at the crease, will be Root’s companion. On the penultimate day of the Test match, England would be sure of winning the final session with Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, and Jamie Overton yet to come.
India
