Fourth Test: India reach to 43/0 at stumps on Day 2, trail England by 56 runs
London, Sep 3: India allowed Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes to earn a substantial 99-run first innings lead for England on day two of the fourth Test here, leaving their star-studded batting line-up to rise to the occasion in the second essay after a string of indifferent performances.
In the absence of Mohammad Shami, the Indian pace attack did not seem potent enough on the day and was unable to put sustained pressure on the batsmen.
From a precarious 62 for five, England staged a remarkable recovery to score 290 on a pitch getting better for batting with each session.
But despite losing the initiative, India are still in the match after restricting the English lead to less than 100.
The men responsible for giving England the upper hand in the game were Ollie Pope (81 off 159) and Chris Woakes (50 off 60) whose attacking innings in the final session could well prove to be the difference in the match.
India batting, which has let the team down often in overseas conditions and also in the series so far, will have to find a way to score at least 300 plus in the second innings.
The openers Rohit Sharma (20 batting) and K L Rahul (22 batting) made a promising start, taking India to 43 for no loss in 16 overs at stumps on day two. They still trail England by 56 runs.
Rohit got a life on 6 when he Rory Burns failed to sight a regulation catch at second slip.
Considering the batting friendly conditions at The Oval, the batsmen, especially the struggling middle-order, will be expected to deliver and keep India in the game.
India's third and fourth choice pacers -- especially Mohammad Siraj and Shardul Thakur, were not able to maintain pressure put by Umesh Yadav (3/76) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/67) early in the England innings.
Ravindra Jadeja played his role well, taking two wickets and keeping things tight from his end.
England were bowled out after tea with Woakes getting run out after a destructive knock comprising 11 fours.
The pitch played true allowing the England batsmen to hit on the up.
Pope, playing his first match of the series, showed an attractive range of strokes including on the up straight drives and cover drives.
England led India by 36 runs at the tea break. The first wicket of the session came through Siraj, who trapped Jonny Bairstow (37) with his stock ball -- the nip backer -- in the fifth over after lunch. That also brought an end to an entertaining 89-run stand between Bairstow and Pope.
Pope then got together with Moeen Ali (35) to give England the upperhand. The two shared a 71-run stand and before a well-set Moeen played a poor shot off Ravindra Jadeja to throw his wicket away. The attempted slog sweep went straight into the hands of the cover fielder.
In the morning session, Umesh struck twice in the first hour of play before a counter-attacking stand between Bairstow and Pope took England to 139 for five at lunch. England scored 86 runs in the 25-over session.
Umesh, perennially in and out of the playing eleven and featuring in his first Test in nine months, was impressive in his opening spell after taking the prized wicket of Joe Root on Thursday.
He got his 150th Test wicket in his first over of the day after nightwatchman Craig Overton slashed one hard only to edge it to Virat Kohli at first slip.
Dawid Malan (31 off 67) once again batted fluently until Umesh, coming from around the wicket, got one to slightly straighten to take the outside edge and Rohit Sharma took a brilliant diving catch at second slip, leaving England at 62 for five.
With Bumrah also applying pressure from the other end, England managed to score only 25 runs in the first hour in which 12 overs were bowled.
However, the momentum shifted drastically in England's favour after the drinks break as Shardul Thakur conceded four boundaries in his over with three of them coming from Pope's blade.
One was a delightful straight drive and was followed by a flick between the mid-on and mid-wicket arc. With the pitch not offering much help to the pacers, Thakur paid the price for bowling a bit too full.
The next over, Bairstow collected three boundaries off Siraj, who too wasn't at his best.
Pope batted with supreme confidence and struck a gorgeous cover drive off Bumrah towards the end of the session.
Brief Scores:
India 191 and 43 for 0 (KL Rahul 22 batting, Rohit Sharma 20 batting)
England 1st Innings: 290 (Ollie Pope 81, Chris Woakes 50, Umesh Yadav 3/76, Jasprit Bumrah 2/67).
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
8 cheetahs from Africa to arrive at MP's Kuno National Park on Saturday
Sheopur (MP) (PTI): Eight more cheetahs will be airlifted from Africa and brought to Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday morning, an official said on Friday.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav will release the big cats into enclosures readied at the park under the ongoing cheetah revival programme in India via intercontinental translocations, he added.
The batch from Botswana, comprising six females and two males, will fly to Gwalior between 9 pm and 10 pm on an Indian Air Force aircraft, Cheetah Project Director Uttam Sharma told PTI.
ALSO READ: Physiotherapist from Assam found dead near his rented house in Odisha’s Cuttack district
From Gwalior, two IAF helicopters will transport the cheetahs to Kuno National Park, where they are expected to arrive between 9 am and 10 am on Saturday. The flight duration from Botswana to Gwalior will be around nine to 10 hours, he said.
This will be the third batch of cheetahs arriving from Africa, following earlier introductions from Namibia and South Africa, he added.
With this, the number of cheetahs in India will rise to 46.
Sharma said enclosures have been prepared at the park, where the cheetahs will remain in quarantine for about a month.
The park has five helipads to facilitate their safe landing, he added.
Like the last time, the IAF will assist the cheetah revival programme by bringing them from Africa, just as it did when transporting the cursorial animal from SA in February 2023, Sharma said.
Earlier, eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia to Gwalior on a private jet in September 2022, after which IAF helicopters transported them to the park, he said.
"The arrival of more cheetahs will strengthen India's cheetah revival programme. With the support of the central government, we aim to increase the population to 50 as soon as possible," Sharma said.
Three big cats were later relocated to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, while 35 remain at Kuno National Park, he said.
According to officials, endangered animals are not kept in a single habitat due to the risk of disease outbreaks that can wipe out their entire population at one go.
The cheetah, the world's fastest land animal, became extinct in India nearly seven decades ago.
Last year, India saw the birth of 12 cubs, though six, including three cubs, did not survive. This year, between February 7 and February 18, eight cubs were born in two litters.
In all, 39 cubs have been born at KNP since 2023, of which 27 have survived.
Namibia-born Jwala and Aasha, South Africa-born Gamini, Veera and Nirva, and India-born Mukhi have all produced litters at KNP, officials said.
Three cheetahs have been moved to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Mandsaur district, while 35 remain at KNP, they added.
