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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

5 talking points from England vs India day five as Virat Kohli's side go 2-1 up

Day five of the fourth Test between England and India ended with a brilliant win for Virat Kohli's side.

After seeing England through to the close of play on day four, Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed went on to share a 100-run partnership, with both openers scoring half-centuries.

Straight after reaching his fifty, Burns was dismissed, getting caught behind off Shardul Thakur.

Dawid Malan was then run out for just five after a mix-up with Hameed, gifting India their second wicket.

Hameed then departed soon after lunch, getting bowled by a beauty from Ravi Jadeja for a hard-fought 63.

Jasprit Bumrah then picked up two wickets in quick succession, bowling both Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow before Jadeja claimed Moeen Ali.

It was yet another remarkable collapse by England after lunch, who went from 131-2 to 149-6 in the space of just nine overs.

Joe Root was the next man to go, playing the ball onto his stumps for 36 and India soon completed a 157-run victory.

Chris Woakes was out caught for 18, Craig Overton was bowled for four and James Anderson was caught behind for two, sealing a well-deserved win for the visitors.

Here are five talking points from the day's play.

Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns shared a 100-run partnership (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Burns and Hameed set a platform

If England were going to have a chance of chasing down the 368-run total or salvage a draw, it was imperative that their two openers got them off to a good start.

And Burns and Hameed did just that, seeing England through to 100 before the first wicket fell.

It was an incredibly important partnership and set a decent platform for England to either go on and win the game or salvage a draw.

Dawid Malan was run out for just five after a mix-up with Hameed (Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Malan's run out

With Malan and Hameed looking to build a partnership, Malan got himself run out after briefly hesitating while attempting a quick single.

It was a needless wicket to lose and gave India an important breakthrough just before lunch, which sparked something of a collapse.

Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, former Indian wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta said: "That is a huge breakthrough. Malan was handling Jadeja quite well. He will be gutted. I thought the single was on.

"Malan wasn't ready for the single. He wasn't really backing up."

Bumrah's brilliant spell

The 27-year-old has been impressive in this series so far and he produced a brilliant spell after lunch to put India in the driving seat.

Once Jadeja had removed the dogged Hameed, Bumrah bowled Pope with a beauty for just two and then got Bairstow with an outstanding inswinging yorker.

The wicket of Pope was also Bumrah's 100th in Test cricket and he became the fastest Indian seamer to reach the milestone, doing so in just his 24th appearance.

Speaking on BBC Test Match Special Dasgupta said: "That is brilliant bowling from Bumrah. A perfect yorker.

"It is very difficult for a batter when you have just come to the crease. What a spell this has been from Bumrah."

Root plays on

After coming to the crease when Malan was run out shortly before lunch, the England captain attempted to stay busy at the crease.

However, with wickets falling around him, it soon became clear that Root would have to shut up shop in an attempt to lead his team to Old Trafford with the series still 1-1.

Along with Woakes, they appeared to represent England's final hope of avoiding defeat, but the magnitude of the task at hand ultimately proved too much for Root as he dragged on.

Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, former England batter Ebony Rainford-Brent said: "That is a huge, huge wicket.

"It is an interesting one - there was a little bit of in-drift and it just cramped Joe Root for room. It was quite a gentle dismissal, and it has been blown the game wide open."

Shardul Thakur has had a huge impact on the fourth Test and picked up the key wicket of Joe Root on day five to leave India on the brink of victory (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Thakur's golden game

What a game this man has had! Thakur smacked invaluable half-centuries in both of India's innings and also picked up key wickets with the ball.

India were 127-7 when he came into bat on day one and he promptly scored the fastest ever fifty at The Oval to help them reach 191.

With the ball, Thakur only picked up one wicket in England's first innings but it was the important one of Pope, who was on 81 at the time and threatening to give England a massive lead.

In his second knock, Thakur struck 60 and shared a 100-run partnership with Rishabh Pant to put India in the driving seat.

Then, on day five, he picked up two huge scalps, first removing Burns when England had reached 100-0 and then getting Root to leave England 182-7 and on the brink of defeat.

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