India need four wickets quickly and England a miracle on the fifth day of the fourth Test match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. While Joe Root's innings might have staved off an innings defeat, it still looks like being another scathing defeat for England unless something extraordinary happens on the final day.
With Virat Kohli and Jayant Yadav making hay while the sun shone in the morning of day four, India ended up posting a mammoth first innings total, which gave them a lead of 231. That has been cut to 49 by England, who ended the fourth day on 182/6.
While they batted aggressively in this second innings – Root in particular was great to watch – India are still only four wickets away from bowling the opposition out. And even if they manage to go past India, which they should, it will still take a near-unbelievable effort to keep the Test series alive.
Who knows, maybe James Anderson, after the jibe on Virat Kohli for absolutely no reason, will find his mojo, even if there has been absolutely no sign of the swing bowler doing what he is expected to do. Even if England end up bowling well, though, the target is not expected to be big enough to trouble India.
That is, of course, if England do fold quickly as expected. They have that one big potential batting partnership remaining in Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler. Buttler showed just what a dangerous batsman he can be in the first innings, and what England will hope is for more of the same from their right-hander.
If the two wicketkeepers can forge an alliance that not only takes time away but also brings runs quickly, they might just be able to put India under pressure, enough pressure, to force an improbable win.
The wicket has been a lot flatter in the morning, after the roller has run through, so there is an opportunity there for Bairstow, Buttler, Chris Woakes and the rest of the England lineup to do some damage.
Where to Watch Live
India: TV: Star Sports HD1, Star Sports HD3, Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 2 HD. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports.
Middle East: TV: OSN Sports Cricket. Live Streaming: OSN Cricket Live.
US, Canada: TV: Willow TV. Live Streaming: Willow TV Online.
New Zealand: TV: Sky Sport. Live Streaming: Sky Go NZ.
Australia: TV: Fox Sports. Live Streaming: Foxtel.
