India defeated hosts England by 157 runs to register their first victory at the Oval stadium in 50 years. India’s previous victory at the Oval was in 1971. That match was also part of the Indian team’s first-ever test series victory in England.
The details of the 1971 Oval stadium victory can be seen on the ESPN website by following the link below.
The Oval, in South London, is the first stadium in the UK to have hosted an International test match back in September 1880.
Coming back to the current test series..
The first in the five-match series was a draw.
The second, India had won. That victory at the Lord’s, played between 12-16 of August 2021, was registered with a lead of 151 runs. With today’s 157 run victory in the fourth test, India leads the series 2-1.
India now has a shot at series victory when they play at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester on 10-14 September 2021.
So far, India has three test series victories in England to its credit, first time in 1971, second in 1986, and third in 2007. India won the 3-match 2007 series 1-0.
Coming back to today’s match..
As England started the day with 77/0, looking at a target of 291, it was the Indian bowling that finally clinched the long-awaited victory at the Oval.
Shardul Thakur (2 wickets), Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja (2 wickets each), and Umesh Yadav (3 wickets) finished the English batting order in 92.2 overs.
While Shardul Thakur took key wickets and scored half-centuries in both innings (first being a very fast half-century, by the way), Rohit Sharma’s century in the second innings got him declared the ‘Man of the match.’
The full scorecard for for today’s match can be found at ESPN by clicking the link below.