IND vs ENG: Team India's record at Kennington Oval ahead of fifth Test
The fifth and final Test between England and India is set to take place from July 31 (Thursday). The visitors are 1-2 behind in the series but they stayed alive with a heroic draw in the previous Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. Here's how they have performed at Kennington Oval in London:
India and England will face each other for one last time this summer in the fifth and final Test starting on July 31 (Thursday). The hosts are leading 2-1 but would be gutted to not have sealed the series at Old Trafford, where India escaped with a heroic draw, batting out a staggering 143 overs, the effort unheard of in modern-day cricket. The last Test match of the series is scheduled to take place at Kennington Oval in London.
The visitors have a decent record at this venue compared to their records at other venues in England. India have won two out of 15 Test matches at the Oval since 1936, with the latest victory coming during their previous tour to the UK in 2021. They have lost six Tests while managing seven others. India's first-ever win at this venue came in 1971, and three of their losses here are by an innings.
India's record at Kennington Oval in London
| Matches Played | Wins | Losses | Draws |
| 15 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
What happened when India last played at Kennington Oval in London against England?
India last played at the Kennington Oval in London in the WTC Final against Australia in June 2023, a clash they lost by 209 runs. However, they faced England at this venue in September 2021 when Virat Kohli was India's captain. It was a tough start to the Test for the visitors as they were reduced to 127/7 in the first innings despite Kohli scoring a half-century.
It was Shardul Thakur's 57-run knock off 36 balls that propelled them to a total of 191 runs, which was also not considered a great effort. In response, England recovered from 62/5, thanks to half-centuries from Ollie Pope (81) and Chris Woakes (50) and valuable contributions from Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali to post 290 runs.
Rohit Sharma's first Test century outside Asia propels India
The 99-run lead in testing conditions had put the hosts in a commanding position. When their backs were against the wall, India's experienced players stood up with opener Rohit Sharma scoring a scintillating century, his first in the format outside Asia. India put up a terrific display of batting with the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant and Thakur (again) scoring fifties while KL Rahul and Kohli scored 46 and 44 runs respectively.
Thanks to these tremendous efforts, the visitors posted 466 runs before getting bundled out and set a target of 368 runs for England. The home team started well as their openers, Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed,added 100 runs but collapsed soon to get skittled for 210 runs thanks to a collective effort from India's bowling unit.
It was only the second Test win for India at the Oval and under Shubman Gill's captaincy, they would be hoping to repeat history and level the five-match Test series.
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