[harry10]

If Rahane isn't kicked out next game then something is seriously fishy in Indian think tank.

I hope Pant plays a sensible knock and support kohli. Need another 100 runs atleast.

[NPV]

Kohli out, looks like Pant and Thakur can get us a few more runs before we fold up. 312/6, I was hoping for a lead of 280 at least, let's see. Rahane seems to have just played his last inning before he is dropped, symbolically scoring a duck!

[comfortablynumb]

Kohli gone. Guess we better revise our "runs to win" number to 250 now. Or would 230 be more realistic?

Originally Posted by KPR

Had there been Umesh Yadav in Rahane's position to bat I'm sure things would've been different than what Rahane has done to score board.

Even the bunniest of bunnies, Chris Martin and Phil Tufnell would be a safer bet than Rahane in his current form.

[KPR]

Had there been Umesh Yadav in Rahane's position to bat I'm sure things would've been different than what Rahane has done to score board. Feel sad for SKY, Vihari and Ash. Is Mumbai Ranji product nepotism working in his favour?

[SoumenD]

Lord Thakur looks very confident. Couple of great looking shots. England placed 2 fielders now very close to the pitch(bowler’s end) to counter his straight drives. I get a feel post lunch thakur and pant would be asked to go after the bowling and try to get the lead closer to 300.

Was sad to see Rahane’s dismissal. I think its his last inning for a long time to come. Mostly Rohit/Pujara would get the VC hat. Would be interesting to see who replaces him in next match.

P.S: Being a Sunday got a chance to watch a test match live after very long time. All I want to see now is some sensible knock from this last recognised batting pair

[NPV]

Shardul gets a 50 in both innings Happy that someone who is so badly underrated and doesn't easily get opportunities in the playing eleven is performing so well.
Pant nearing his 50.

Now we just need to play out some time tiring the English fielders and give them about 100 odd overs to try and chase the 300+ target

I'm guessing if we don't get all out, Kohli will give England the last hour or so of play (15 overs) to bat
today and then 90 overs tomorrow.

Edit: Shardul and Pant out in quick succession, we may bundle out soon but we have enough ammunition with the 300+ lead.

[VWAllstar]

Lets all please pray together that Sanjay Manjrekar gets constipation for the entire test. Whenever he comes up with an exaggerated praise on a player, he gets out.

This time it was Shardul Thakur

Edit: He gets another in Pant.

[Emvi]

3 wickets falling to spin! Interesting. This will keep Jadeja interested.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Lets all please pray together that Sanjay Manjrekar gets constipation for the entire test.

Well, he anyway has perpetual verbal diarrhoea, so a little bit of constipation might do him some good.

[matizcrazy]

Shardul Thakur has three fifties in his first four Test matches; I wonder how many top order batsmen did so well early on in their career.
Umesh and Jasprit are putting the English attack to the sword now.
With the tailenders getting in on the act, it is India's game to lose. I hope we don't miss Ashwin; very sad to see a great match winner warming the bench.

[ninjatalli]

Today's session is expected to go till 11:30 pm (IST). The last two hours are going to be very interesting. Unless the last 3 tailenders are able to pull along without getting all out, Kohli probably will be declaring after another 10-12 overs of play post tea; leaving the remainder of 25-30 overs to be bowled to get atleast a few (if not the top half) wickets tonight itself.

The England team looks depleted - the last few wickets were all mistakes (/hitting attempts) done by the Indian batsmen. We should have a field day in the last ~2 hours of play of today for sure.

[ninjatalli]

A match to consider wrt the ongoing 4th test

Sri Lanka vs England at Leeds, 2014
- SL lost toss & had to bat first, scored only ~250 runs
- Eng did much better and got a lead of 109 runs
- SL roared back and scored 457 in 2nd innings ending just after tea on Day 4
- Eng had a target of 350 with ~120 overs to go; lost 5 wickets on Day 4 itself!
- Joe Root and Moeen Ali tried hard on Day 5 but Eng eventually lost by 100 runs!

Can't think of a more similar match to the current one

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Can't think of a more similar match to the current one

In the current case, Root's form is a big deciding factor. He has been scoring hundreds like a child's play. All others have to do is play around him and score 30 odd runs on an average.

All this looks accurate on paper, but cricket is a different game when in the middle.

Rooting for Bhumrah to get a 5 for and Jadeja to have an exemplary run out

[ABHI_1512]

The pitch has eased out like anything, no wonder India got some kind of lead to play with. But this is the innings where the importance of R Ashwin will be felt the most. No Shami and no Ashwin and with no swing at all, England should be able to chase this target. I feel for Ashwin, I know how it feels like to sit out in a match where you know you could have played a major part !!

If India has to win, Bumrah has to play through skin !!

[NPV]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

No Shami and no Ashwin and with no swing at all, England should be able to chase this target.

History and statistics (facts) are against an English win.

Unless India bowls really badly and England bat extraordinarily, it won't be easy to chase down all those runs. Despite getting to 77/0 today (few close calls as well), they need another 291 tomorrow for a win, let's see.