Rain pushes The Oval Test to Day 5; England need 35, but Indian pacers aren't done yet

England were 339/6 in the final session on the fourth day of the fifth and final Test when play was stopped due to bad light, followed by rain. After a delay, the umpires were forced to call it stumps, leaving the match tantalisingly poised.

England need just 35 runs to win, but with two fresh batters — Jamie Smith (2) and Jamie Overton (0) — struggling against a revitalised pace attack, India should be hopeful. After all, Chris Woakes might not bat as he has an arm in the sling following a shoulder injury from early in the Test, leaving India practically three wickets away from clinching a famous win.

An Indian win will tie the series 2-2, but should the English tail get the job done, it would be a 3-1 home win. 

The English innings was sailing smoothly when Harry Brook and Joe Root were around. The stylish duo stitched a 195-run stand for the fourth wicket to get England past 300, chasing a target of 374. 

Brook had been the busier of the two, but fell shortly after getting the total beyond 300. He scored with great urgency to make a fine 111 (98). Root stayed on, got England to 337, then nicked one behind off Prasidh Krishna to give India hope. 

England resumed at 50/1 but lost two more wickets as they crossed 100. Stand-in skipper Ollie Pope hit three boundaries in a Prasidh Krishna over, but the untimely aggression led to his downfall when an inswinger from Mohammed Siraj trapped him leg before (27).

Prasidh Krishna struck in his first over, removing Duckett, who edged to first slip. The English opener had made his way to a fifty (54). Shubman Gill-led India trail the five-match series 1-2.

Brief scores: India 224 & 396 (Jaiswal 118, Akash Deep 66, Jadeja 53, Sundar 53, Tongue 5/125, Atkinson 3/127, Overton 2/98) vs England 247 & 339/6 in 76.2 overs (Harry Brook 111, Joe Root 105, Ben Duckett 54, Jamie Smith 2 not out, Jamie Overton 0 not out, Prasidh Krishna 3/109, Mohammed Siraj 2/95). Stumps on Day 4