India stunningly defeated England on the final day, picking up the remaining four wickets to win the fifth Test by six runs. With this win, they levelled the five-match series 2-2, marking one of the best comebacks ever. With this win, India have jumped to third place in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table and have a PCT of 46.66 with two wins in five matches. As for England, with this loss, they have slipped to the fourth position at the end of the Test series with a PCT of 43.33.
Australia and Sri Lanka are on top of the WTC points table after playing three and two Test matches respectively. Bangladesh and the West Indies are in fifth and six place, even as New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa are yet to play a game in the ongoing WTC cycle.
What happened on Day 5?
England had four wickets in hand when the day started, and they needed to score only 35 runs. However, in helpful conditions, India were superb with Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj picking up wickets to light up the jam-packed Oval. It was all drama at the venue with every ball being a huge event as Jamie Smith, the last recognised batsman, was the first player to get out with Siraj dismissing him.
The same bowler pinned Jamie Oveton in front of the stumps in his next over and at 354/8, still needing 20 runs, England were suddenly in trouble despite starting the day with two fours off the first two balls.
Woakes' heroic efforts
Soon, England lost their ninth wicket with Krishna landing a superb yorker to castle Josh Tongue. England still needed 17 runs to win the match, and India were the favourites at this stage. However, there was a heroic moment in the middle when Chris Woakes walked out to bat with a dislocated shoulder to help his country win such a close Test match. He was also set to bat left-handed, but wasn't required in the end as Siraj bowled a fantastic yorker as India won the game by six runs and levelled the series.
Here's the updated WTC points table after IND vs ENG 5th Test:
| Rank | Teams | Matches | Wins | Losses | Draw | Points | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 100 |
| 2. | Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 66.66 |
| 3. | India | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 46.66 |
| 4. | England | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 43.33 |
| 5. | Bangladesh | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 16.67 |
| 6. | West Indies | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New Zealand | Yet to play | ||||||
| Pakistan | Yet to play | ||||||
| South Africa | Yet to play |
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