The fifth Test between India and England moved into the final day with all to play for after bad light and rain forced an early end to the fourth day. England need 35 runs to win and have four wickets in hand as they look to deny the Indians a 2-2 parity in the five-match series.
The visitors mounted a brilliant comeback after the match seemed gone from their hands, with Joe Root and Harry Brook having put up masterful centuries. However, the visitors found life in the contest as they put their hands up with their backs against the wall.
Akash Deep got Brook in the second session, with the English batter having tried one too many of his aggressive strokes. The match was still with the hosts before a magical turnaround in the third session.
Prasidh Krishna cleaned Jacob Bethell on five when England were 42 runs away to infuse some hope in the Indian camp. The hopes looked more realistic when Krishna nicked Root behind with Dhruv Jurel taking a good diving catch on his right.
Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh then piled pressure on Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton as the Indian crowd cheered at the Oval for the team to make more inroads. However, the bad light forced an early end to the fourth day, with the match brilliantly poised and open for both teams to win.
Meanwhile, England now need 35 runs to win, while India need to take four wickets for a famous win and end the series in parity. With the match still open for three results, eyes are on Chris Woakes and whether he will come out to bat if needed.
He was ruled out of the fifth Test after suffering a shoulder injury during the first innings of the Test match. Woakes landed on his left shoulder while diving and trying to save a boundary. He did not bowl, and the England Cricket Board had confirmed that he would not take part for the rest of the Oval Test.
"Chris Woakes set to play no further part in the fifth Test," the ECB had said in a statement.
Meanwhile, England veteran Joe Root confirmed that Woakes is ready to bat if needed on the final day of the match. "You probably saw him in his whites in the dressing room — he's all in, like the rest of us. It's been that kind of series where guys have had to put their bodies on the line," Root said in the press conference at the end of Day 4.
"Hopefully, it doesn't come to that, but he had some throwdowns in here at one point and he's ready if needed... Clearly, he's in a huge amount of pain after what he’s been through. As we've seen from others in this series - a guy with a broken foot, guys taking all sorts of blows - it means a lot to him.
"It just shows the character and the kind of person he is, that he's willing to put his body on the line for England. Hopefully he doesn’t have to, but if it comes to that, he’ll help us get across the line and win an incredible series," he added.
