England and India ready for Cliffhanger on the last day in dramatic fifth test

First there was bad light, then rain, and with that the penultimate day of this epic ended with the ultimate cliffhanger. England had apparently crusted for their objective of 374, driven by sparkling centuries of Harry Brook and Joe Root, only for India to hit back and drop them six wickets, 35 runs, when the players left the field.

And so this fifth test decision maker, even though he looks like a dramatic fourth day, would bring the finality before the competition, now goes to the fifth day with everything on the line.

England will resume in the morning in the hope that Jamie Smith, the last seven batters, can guide them to a 3-1 series and Chris Woakes, disrupted left arm in a pendulum, is not obliged to hit.

India can still have the series on 2-2 leveling one of the Anderson-Detulkar-Trophy-and-and-award, after they have floured somewhat during a 195-run fifth-wicket stand between Brook and Root, they might have had the most injured to feel the most sad when the procedure was burst at 5.30 pm. The power was very much with them and England at this stage for their lives.

While Brook’s remarkable 10th test was terminated on 111 from 98 Ballen-Vleermuis flying out of his hand when Akash deep in the ring in the ring was and Jacob Bethell lost his middle stump for five in an attempt to get rid of the buoys, it was the removal of root for 105 to a feathered edge of Prasidhna.

The old ball started to move too late for the speeds of India and, from 337 for six, Smith and Jamie Overton played 20 balls of paralysis in which it felt like each hit the bat or hit the inside of the edge. The Indian supporters, restless while Brook and root apparently break the back of the chase, were suddenly with full voice.

Most of the galls of all was that 30 minutes after the game was abandoned at 6 p.m., the oval was steeped in sunshine and the last remaining spectators shouted words like “shame”. If nothing else, the overnight break Smith and the tail time to reset, even if this also means that it is first a renewed Indian attack confronted with the second new ball, only 3.4 overs.