London: Akash Deep swatted Gus Atkinson to the square-leg boundary to bring up his half-century half-an-hour before lunch on Day 3 here at the Oval. After having knocked the wind out of the English attack, he punched the air, having come out to bat only as a nightwatchman on Friday evening. At the other end, Yashasvi Jaiswal showed admirable restraint in the 107-run third-wicket partnership, which was dominated by Akash Deep’s 66 off 94 balls.Half-an-hour after lunch, Jaiswal set off for a celebratory sprint after calmly steering Atkinson to point for a single to bring up his century. At that moment, it seemed India were running away with the fifth Test. It didn’t matter that they had just lost their captain Shubman Gill minutes ago. It didn’t matter that England didn’t look like catching anything in the second innings.If Jaiswal’s century on the first day of the series at Headingley got the Indian batting juggernaut rolling, this century, in his last innings on the tour, has laid the perfect foundation for India to try and attempt levelling the series 2-2 after five dramatic Test matches.The resolute Jaiswal refrained from expansive shots down the ground against the moving ball, scoring nearly 90 per cent of his runs coming behind the wicket. After Jaiswal, the lower middle-order of Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel and Washington Sundar added enterprising runs on a lively pitch to set England a 374-run target. That the pitch and conditions were not worth leaking 396 runs in 88 overs was evidenced by the English seamers creating frequent chances throughout the innings, only for the fielders to shell six regulation catches.With a seamer down in Chris Woakes, the three-pronged seam attack of Atkinson, Tongue and Overton ran out of steam by the last hour of the day. Washington Sundar disdainfully smacked four sixes and four boundaries off the second new ball to bring up his half-century off just 39 balls, with No. 11 Prasidh Krishna keeping him company at the other end.
Washington’s ballistic 53 off 46 balls must have eased the pain of the twin late-order collapses at the top of the tour at Headingley. Jaiswal’s 118 off 164 disturbed the bowling plans, Jadeja’s 53 slashed their ego and Washington’s power had England shaking.It is now up to the Indian bowlers to wipe out the bitter fourth-innings memories of the first Test where England chased down 371 without breaking a sweat. The pitch had astoundingly flattened out at Headingley. They won’t have that excuse here at the Oval. Mohammed Siraj knocked over Zak Crawley’s off-stump with a telling yorker to draw stumps, after the English opener’s another brief spell of delaying antics. India may have rested the advantage at 50/1 when the two teams arrive probably for one last time in the series on Sunday.Jaiswal may well be described as India’s most consistent Test opener since Virender Sehwag. He is a man who is obsessed with batting. Before resuming the third day batting on 51 off 49 balls, he batted a good 40 minutes on the practice pitch adjacent to the match pitch before start of play. He hasn’t been as consistent by his own standards on this tour but Jaiswal meant business on Saturday.On Friday evening, Jaiswal batted to put India in front quickly after conceding a slender 23-run lead in the first innings. He offered a few chances but dealt severe blows each time he middled the ball. On Saturday, he took full control.
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The sun broke out but the London air had enough nip in it for the English seamers to move the ball around comfortably. Maybe England erred by opening the day with Jacob Bethell’s rather harmless left-arm spin to Akash Deep. Akash Deep took the responsibility of scoring the runs while Jaiswal looked happy playing the anchor. Batting all day was the mandate from the dressing room.The pitch kept the slip cordon interested all day. Jaiswal literally survived dropped catches at regular intervals but it couldn’t break his determination. Every time the seamers beat him with near-unplayable deliveries, he turned around and briskly went for a walk towards the square-leg umpire before they could look him in the eye or say anything to break his concentration. Yet, he had enough game awareness to latch on to anything that was slightly off the mark.As Jaiswal ferociously drilled one past mid-off immediately after scoring his century, he had announced India’s intention to move the game forward at a pace. This Test has moved at a great pace. Perhaps, it won’t last all five days like the previous four Tests. But, the series has reached its final chapter with the promise of another thrilling finish.
