India vs England 1st Test, Day 5 Preview: Enthralling finale on cards at Rajkot

India and England are in or a fitting finale on Day Five of the first Test with England having a strong lead but still lots to be answered in the Test. India started Day Four at 319 for 4, still trailing by 218 runs, and eventually got bowled out for 488. This gave a stiff lead to England of 49 runs but they ended the day on a high,  reaching 114 for no loss. After toiling hard for years to find a partner for Alastair Cook, Haseeb Hameed seems to have sorted out England’s search and opening order miseries with a fine batting display of an unbeaten fifty at stumps.This has not only swung the game in England’s favour and they will be looking to add quick runs to add pressure in India’s camp. Live Cricket Scorecard: India vs England 1st Test at Rajkot

For now, India are behind as England have looked good from the beginning. India gave a tough fight to England posting 488 but have fallen off with a disappointing final session of Day Four. Nonetheless, there is a lot of action left in the game with the pitch having shown signs of turning around. India will have to bat out well whenever England declare but knowing Virat Kohli’s style of captaincy, take for instance the Adelaide Test in 2014, they will like to go after the target. Earlier in the day, Ravichandran Ashwin curbed the difference in both team’s first innings score with a fine 70 before India collapsed to 488.

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Virat Kohli went for 40 after being the second Indian skipper, overall 19th, to get out hit wicket. Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha led India’s fightback before the former was left with no one to add the runs. Ashwin showed why he is the No. 1 rated all-rounder in Test cricket. He carried on his bat with patience, rotated the strike with ease and never looked at discomfort. Ashwin struck some vital and classy boundaries to take India close to England’s total and this can turn out to be a vital factor in the match. England will feel they do not have a big lead and will have to bat for long to ensure they have some sort of a score to defend. India, on the other hand, have a deep batting line-up and will prevent getting out to soft dismissals, as was the case in the first innings, to keep themselves in the game.

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Both the teams have a realistic chance to win the game but draw seems to be the obvious result. The pitch is offering some turn and awkward bounce which created some half-chances even in the third session of Day Four. Nonetheless, if England openers hold onto their end, India should also hope for the same when their chance comes with the willow. Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali were impressive in India’s first innings and they will like to come hard at them once again.

With a lead of 163, England are in an advantageous position which sets up an exciting day’s of play ahead of us. England’s primary concern will be to pile up quick runs and invite India to bat. This will also depend on how the pitch plays as it did not crumble as expected but still troubled the batsmen at times. India should come out to bat with a positive intent to go at England’s bowlers as it is known that Kohli raises his game while chasing and this Team India under the new captain are known to play for wins.

(Aditya Sahay is a journalist with CricketCountry who is completely into sports and loves writing about cricket in general. He can be followed on Twitter at adisahay7)