INDIA TOUR OF ENGLAND, 2018

Buttler, bowlers shine as England seize the big moments

by Rob Johnston • Published on

Virat Kohli was dismissed on 49 at the fag end of the second day's play © Getty

Despite the 3-1 series scoreline, England and India are two well-matched teams, with strong fast-bowling attacks and flawed batting line-ups. This has provided a captivating four Tests to date with plenty of ebb and flow, but the reason for the home side's victory has been that when the crucial moments have presented themselves, it has been they who have won them and so it was again on the second day of the final Test at The Oval.

A late collapse on the first evening had left England in a precarious position at the start of play, seven wickets down with less than 200 on the board, and India would have had hopes of wrapping things up quickly. As it was, Jos Buttler managed to coax 151 out of England's last three wickets to get England past 300 and then James Anderson and the rest of England's bowlers took five wickets in the final session of the day to leave India 174 for 6 at the close, still trailing by 158.

The match is now clearly in England's favour although given what has gone before in this series, it would be no surprise to see India roar back into contention tomorrow. Importantly for the home side, they got rid of Virat Kohli twenty minutes before the close, a huge wicket given he was looking in increasingly determined mood after being riled up by Anderson. His dismissal could prove to be a decisive moment in the outcome of this game.

Where Joe Root's team have clearly been superior to India is in their lower order batting and today it was evident as Buttler and Adil Rashid and then Stuart Broad kept India's bowlers at bay during a first session when the fielding team were strangely defensive. Buttler, who moved to his fourth half-century of the summer just before lunch, saw off the opening 45 minutes with Rashid before the latter was pinned LBW by Jasprit Bumrah. Buttler then added 98 with Broad at a good click.

India picked up just one wicket in the first two hours of play as Kohli set men back from the off and his bowlers bowled less consistently than the opening day. By being so defensive, Kohli allowed England's batsmen to get in and rotate the strike. When Broad arrived at the crease in the eighth over of the day, for example, he was greeted by a deep point and he duly nudged his first delivery into the gap to get off the mark.

England had their luck too and a number of edges scooted past the slip fielders to the boundary. As he had yesterday, Mohammed Shami passed the bat with frustrating regularity and it will remain one of the great mysteries as to how he ended the innings without reward. Ravindra Jadeja picked up the final two wickets to fall, when Broad was well caught by KL Rahul and then Buttler, after hitting two sixes in an over off Bumrah, was snaffled at slip for 89. England's number seven now averages 56 since his recall at the start of the summer.

Broad, perhaps buoyed by his highest score with the bat all summer, immediately struck, removing Shikar Dhawan LBW with a ball that nipped back from round the wicket. The Indian batsman took an age to discuss with his fellow opener, Rahul, and finally asked for a review but he had taken too long and the umpires told him to be on his way.

However, that was England's only early breakthrough as Broad and Anderson struggled to find the same sort of movement and consistency India's bowlers had had on the opening day. Root used five bowlers in the first 18 overs in search of another wicket but Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara played with increasing authority, reaching Tea with relative ease.

After the interval, Pujara started where the Indians had left off, crunching the second ball from Sam Curran to the point boundary. Shortly after, Rahul moved to 37, his highest score of the series, but was then removed by a peach from Curran which pitched on middle and nipped away to clip the off-stump bail. It was the only delivery which the left-armer had bowled to Rahul that would have hit the stumps.

That brought Kohli to the crease, the man who has single-handedly kept India's batting afloat this series and Anderson was immediately introduced into the attack. In contrast to his first spell, he immediately hit his lines and lengths and two balls after beating Kohli with a perfectly pitched outswinger, he bowled the in-swinger which pinned India's captain on the pad.

The ball was certainly going on to hit the stumps but the question was whether Kohli had got outside the line. The umpire, Kumar Dharmasena, thought he had and so gave it not out. England reviewed immediately but the replay showed the impact was umpire's call and Dharmasena's decision was upheld, meaning the Englishman has - so far - still not got Kohli out in the series. At the end of the over, Anderson, clearly frustrated, exchanged words with the umpire and Kohli.

It was at the start of a brilliant six over spell from Anderson which underlined the qualities of control and skill that England will soon have to do without. Making the ball move both ways at will, he rendered India's batsman intent on defence, and soon enough, he was rewarded with the wicket of Pujara, caught behind fencing at a ball he could have left. Ajinkya Rahane was soon gone too, caught at first slip for a duck, also to a ball he would have been better letting go. Anderson now has more Test wickets against India than any other bowler.

After a tentative start, Kohli was starting to find his feet and then somewhat out the blue, he was caught at second slip off Anderson's replacement from the Vauxhall Lane end, Ben Stokes. He will be yet another batsman who will look back at an error of judgement outside off-stump. Shortly after, Stokes bowled a beauty to Rishabh Pant that reversed slightly away from the left-hander for Cook to gather the edge. There was not a lot the batsman could have done there.

These were the wickets that tilted the day clearly in England's favour and India had lost four for 59, albeit in difficult conditions with the ball moving more than it had in the first two sessions. There is still plenty more to do for England, but twice today, when the match situation threatened to go away from them, they produced enough quality to wrestle back the initiative. It has been the way of things over the past four and a half Tests and is the reason they have a series victory in their pockets.

Brief scores: India 174/6 (Virat Kohli 49, Lokesh Rahul 37; James Anderson 2-20, Ben Stokes 2-44) trail England 332 (Jos Buttler 89, Alastair Cook 71; Ravindra Jadeja 4-79, Ishant Sharma 3-62) by 158 runs.

© Cricbuzz

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