AGENCIES
MUMBAIIndia are closing in on a series-clinching victory in the fourth Test in Mumbai, reducing England to 182-6, still 49 runs behind, by stumps on day four.
Virat Kohli (235) earlier struck a double hundred; the biggest score by an Indian batsman against England and the highest by an Indian skipper. He put on a record eighth-wicket partnership of 241 runs with Jayant Yadav (104) - who notched a maiden Test ton - as the pair batted through the entire first session.
After India were finally bowled out for 631 - earning a 231-run first-innings lead - England were swiftly reduced to 49-3 before tea and it looked like the hosts might win with a day to spare. But Joe Root (77) and Jonny Bairstow (50no) hit half centuries to deny India, putting on 92 runs for the fourth wicket, though Root, Ben Stokes and night-watchman, Jake Ball, all fell before the close.
At the start of the day, England were desperate for early wickets with India resuming on 451-7, leading already by 51, so gave the ball to Ball, who took a wicket with his first over on the third morning. But Ball couldn't repeat the trick and it was runs, not wickets, which came thick and fast; Jayant, in particular, driving beautifully.
Meanwhile, Kohli went through to a third Test double ton - all of them coming in a remarkable 2016 for the batsman - as he and Jayant added 128 in an utterly chanceless first session. Jayant reached his maiden Test century - and the first ever by an Indian No 9 - shortly after the interval, before he was stumped off Adil Rashid when looking for quick runs in the afternoon. Kohli too was looking to be more aggressive, and smashed Chris Woakes for six straight back down the ground, though fell in his next over, picking out the fielder at cover. Rashid (4-192) then added the scalp of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (9) - slog-sweeping to deep midwicket - to finally end the innings.
In reply, England got off to the worst possible start when Keaton Kennings was trapped lbw first ball in Kumar's opening over - the opener becoming just the fourth batsman in Test history to hit a hundred and be out for a duck on debut. It left the visitors once again reliant on skipper Alastair Cook and his vice-captain Root, and the pair were seemingly guiding England safely to tea till Cook (18) was trapped lbw by Ravindra Jadeja (2-58). Cook wasted a review on the wicket, while India too used up one of theirs when appealing for a bat-pad dismissal against Root in Ravichandran Ashwin's next over. But England did lose a third wicket before tea, when Moeen Ali - after 53 overs of bowling - played a tired-looking shot, guiding Jadeja to leg slip.
After the break, Bairstow struggled for fluency early on his innings, playing and missing multiple times and being dropped on 14 by Kohli at slip when gloving an attempted reverse-sweep. In stark contrast, Root raced through to fifty, off 75 balls, with back-to-back boundaries off Ashwin; one of which was a superbly-timed sweep, a shot he played to good effect throughout his innings. India used up their remaining review when Jayant thought he had Root trapped in front, and though that wasn't the case, he ultimately got his man lbw soon after.
Stokes (18) came in and counter-attacked with a couple of boundaries and a big six over midwicket, but fell just before stumps, reverse-sweeping Ashwin (2-49) onto his boot and up to second slip. At the other end, Bairstow battled through to a half century, surviving a couple of scares on the way - given out twice but overturned on review both times thanks to a Jadeja no-ball and then a bat-pad appeal from Ashwin that struck only pad. Ashwin did pick up a second wicket though, getting Ball (2) out caught behind in the final over of the day.
