India lead England by 171 runs after day three at The Kia Oval; Rohit Sharma scores 127 - his first Test hundred outside India - after being dropped on six and 31 by Rory Burns; watch day four from 10.15am, Sunday on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event
Sunday 5 September 2021 07:13, UK
Rohit Sharma scored his first away Test hundred as his sparkling 127 from 256 balls propelled India into a 171-run lead over England after day three of the fourth Test at The Kia Oval.
Rohit made England pay for dropping him on six and 31 - Rory Burns the culprit at slip on both occasions - and sealed a 204-ball, eighth Test ton with a six off Moeen Ali on a day that ended with India 270-3.
The opener's 153-run partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara (61) for the second wicket lifted India to 236-1 and a lead of 137, only for Ollie Robinson to remove Rohit and Pujara in the same over with the second new ball - Rohit out from the first delivery after the switch as he top-edged a pull.
The noise and expectation rose significantly around The Oval after Robinson's quick-fire double strike, with India skipper Virat Kohli greeted by a chorus of boos from England fans as he strode to the crease.
However, Kohli (22no) and Ravindra Jadeja (9no), after some initial nervy moments, thwarted England up until bad light brought an early stumps with the hosts unable to bowl their seamers.
India - who began their second innings with a 99-run deficit - are probable favourites but the hosts are still very much in the game.
Still, with England likely to face a challenging at best and mammoth at worst fourth-innings run chase, they will look back on the missed opportunities to remove Rohit.
Burns failed to pick up an edge off James Anderson on Friday evening and then spilled a one-handed chance on Saturday morning after Robinson tempted Rohit into poking outside off stump - those errors taking the number of squandered catches by England in this Test to a total of six.
Joe Root's side bowled under leaden skies throughout Saturday but there was no extravagant moment and they were only able to prise Rohit's opening partner KL Rahul (46) in the first session before going wicketless in the second on a flat Oval deck.
Rohit and Rahul increased their first-wicket stand from its overnight 43 to 83 before Rahul was out caught behind to Anderson on review.
UltraEdge showed a spike and so the original not-out call was reversed, although Rahul - who had successfully overturned an lbw decision off Chris Woakes on 41 - looked peeved as he trudged off, perhaps feeling the noise may have been bat on pad.
England were finally rewarded for their efforts but it would be another 47 overs and four hours before they struck again as Rohit and Pujara took India into the lead and then set about extending it.
Rohit reached fifty from 145 balls and but then took just a further 59 to turn that into a first overseas ton after previous centuries in Visakhapatnam (twice), Chennai, Ranchi, Kolkata, Mumbai and his birth city of Nagpur.
The 34-year-old raced through the eighties with two fours in an over off Moeen, moved onto 94 when he flicked Anderson to the midwicket fence and then sealed his century by depositing Moeen into the stands - the third time he has reached three figures in a Test with a six.
Rohit's knock rather overshadowed Pujara's but the latter played a punchy innings by his standards and showed few effects of the rolled ankle he had sustained while running as he notched a 31st Test fifty.
Both batsmen then fell in the space of six Robinson deliveries - Rohit picking out Woakes at long leg before Pujara departed after a successful England review, which confirmed he had inside-edged onto his pad and through to Moeen at third slip.
Watch day four of the fourth Test between England and India, from The Kia Oval, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 10.15am on Sunday.
