<p>London: The future and present of England combined to deliver an exhilarating rendition of the high-octane ‘Bazball’ but a determined Indian side refused to give up, fighting tooth and nail with every little breath left in their punctured lungs to set the stage for a thrilling climax of a fascinatingly fought series.</p>.<p>The 26-year-old Harry Brook, hailed as a generational talent and already installed as the captain of the England limited-overs sides, smashed a scintillating 111 off 98 balls while former skipper Joe Root, the 34-year-old traditionalist who has recalibrated his game remarkably to stay relevant in this new regime, hit an equally gorgeous 105 off 152 balls as England appeared marching towards a commanding victory in the series finale at The Oval on Sunday. </p>.<p>There has never been a dull moment in this series where momentum has see-sawed and it did so again when Brook was dismissed just before tea after completing a rampaging 10th Test century. Breaking the game-changing 195-run stand off 211 balls for the fourth wicket was the adrenaline rush the tired Indians needed and they came charging off the blocks after the final break to change the game on its head.</p>.Tottenham's Son bids emotional farewell in S Korea, Maddison suffers knee injury.<p>Needing to win this Test to level the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2, Indian pacers Mohammed Siraj, playing his fifth Test in a row, and Prasidh Krishna gave it their all. They bent their backs despite their bodies being battered, created plenty of pressure and forced Jacob Bethell and Root into committing errors. From cruising along at one stage, England suddenly buckled, slipping to 337/6 in pursuit of 374. India kept charging in but their bid to pull off one of the greatest comeback wins was halted by bad light before heavy rain stopped play with England at 339/6 in 76.2 overs and needing another 35 for victory. The Indians will come re-energised on Monday hoping to complete the miracle. </p>.<p>Earlier, it looked like a missed chance could scuttle India’s hopes. Having fought brilliantly for three days in the series finale and starting the fourth day as favourites after reducing England to 50/1, Indians were almost left to rue the missed chance of Brook when the marauding batter was on 19 and the match still in their control. Siraj, Akash Deep and Prasidh were breathing fire and making the most of the juicy conditions, dismissing overnight Ben Duckett and skipper Ollie Pope in quick succession to leave England in a spot at 106/3.</p>.<p>The Indian pacers kept beating the edges, got the two early wickets they were looking for. England were really under the pump. New man Brook, who believes attack is the best form of defence, decided to throw the kitchen sink at the Indians in a bid to upset their rhythm. Brook hooked Prasidh’s first ball of the 35th over but couldn’t time it properly and the red cherry found Siraj at deep fine leg. The Indians were about to celebrate at having hammered the first nail on England’s coffin but to their utter shock, Siraj touched the boundary ropes after catching it and then stepped past it too. Siraj, who has given his heart and soul this entire series, couldn’t believe what he had done nor did any of his mates. </p>.<p>The six-foot Brook, one of the most dangerous batters in world cricket who can slay any attack without any fear whatsoever, then made the utmost use of his lifeline to decimate India. He figured there was no point hanging around on a pitch where something was happening and chose to play the high-risk high-reward cricket. The Indians hoped Brook’s reckless driving would result in a crash at some stage but Yorkshireman just kept ravaging everything in his path.</p>.<p>Brook’s assault ended a little before tea and the Indians then took charge to set the stage for a cracking climax. Phew, what a series it has been so far!</p>.<p><strong>SCOREBOARD </strong></p><p>INDIA (I Innings): 224 </p><p>ENGLAND (I Innings): 247 </p><p>INDIA (II Innings): 396 </p><p>ENGLAND (II Innings O/n: 50/1): Crawley b Siraj ....................................14 (36b 2x4) Duckett c Rahul b Prasidh ...............54 (83b 6x4) Pope lbw Siraj .....................................27 (34b 5x4) Root c Jurel b Prasidh ....................105 (152b 12x4) Brook c Siraj b Akash ......................111 (98b 14x4 2x6) Bethell b Prasidh ...................................5 (31b 1x4) Smith (batting) .......................................2 (17b) Overton (batting) ..................................0 (8b) Extras (B-1 LB-8 NB-1 W-1) 21 </p><p>TOTAL (for 6 wkts 76.2 overs) ..339 Fall of wickets: 1-50 (Crawley) 2-82 (Duckett) 3-106 (Pope) 4-301 (Brook) 5-332 (Bethell) 6-337 (Root). Bowling: Akash 20-4-85-1 (w-2 nb-1) Prasidh 22.2-3-109-3 (w-1) Siraj 26-5-95-2 Sundar 4-0-19-0 Jadeja 4-0-22-0. </p>
<p>London: The future and present of England combined to deliver an exhilarating rendition of the high-octane ‘Bazball’ but a determined Indian side refused to give up, fighting tooth and nail with every little breath left in their punctured lungs to set the stage for a thrilling climax of a fascinatingly fought series.</p>.<p>The 26-year-old Harry Brook, hailed as a generational talent and already installed as the captain of the England limited-overs sides, smashed a scintillating 111 off 98 balls while former skipper Joe Root, the 34-year-old traditionalist who has recalibrated his game remarkably to stay relevant in this new regime, hit an equally gorgeous 105 off 152 balls as England appeared marching towards a commanding victory in the series finale at The Oval on Sunday. </p>.<p>There has never been a dull moment in this series where momentum has see-sawed and it did so again when Brook was dismissed just before tea after completing a rampaging 10th Test century. Breaking the game-changing 195-run stand off 211 balls for the fourth wicket was the adrenaline rush the tired Indians needed and they came charging off the blocks after the final break to change the game on its head.</p>.Tottenham's Son bids emotional farewell in S Korea, Maddison suffers knee injury.<p>Needing to win this Test to level the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2, Indian pacers Mohammed Siraj, playing his fifth Test in a row, and Prasidh Krishna gave it their all. They bent their backs despite their bodies being battered, created plenty of pressure and forced Jacob Bethell and Root into committing errors. From cruising along at one stage, England suddenly buckled, slipping to 337/6 in pursuit of 374. India kept charging in but their bid to pull off one of the greatest comeback wins was halted by bad light before heavy rain stopped play with England at 339/6 in 76.2 overs and needing another 35 for victory. The Indians will come re-energised on Monday hoping to complete the miracle. </p>.<p>Earlier, it looked like a missed chance could scuttle India’s hopes. Having fought brilliantly for three days in the series finale and starting the fourth day as favourites after reducing England to 50/1, Indians were almost left to rue the missed chance of Brook when the marauding batter was on 19 and the match still in their control. Siraj, Akash Deep and Prasidh were breathing fire and making the most of the juicy conditions, dismissing overnight Ben Duckett and skipper Ollie Pope in quick succession to leave England in a spot at 106/3.</p>.<p>The Indian pacers kept beating the edges, got the two early wickets they were looking for. England were really under the pump. New man Brook, who believes attack is the best form of defence, decided to throw the kitchen sink at the Indians in a bid to upset their rhythm. Brook hooked Prasidh’s first ball of the 35th over but couldn’t time it properly and the red cherry found Siraj at deep fine leg. The Indians were about to celebrate at having hammered the first nail on England’s coffin but to their utter shock, Siraj touched the boundary ropes after catching it and then stepped past it too. Siraj, who has given his heart and soul this entire series, couldn’t believe what he had done nor did any of his mates. </p>.<p>The six-foot Brook, one of the most dangerous batters in world cricket who can slay any attack without any fear whatsoever, then made the utmost use of his lifeline to decimate India. He figured there was no point hanging around on a pitch where something was happening and chose to play the high-risk high-reward cricket. The Indians hoped Brook’s reckless driving would result in a crash at some stage but Yorkshireman just kept ravaging everything in his path.</p>.<p>Brook’s assault ended a little before tea and the Indians then took charge to set the stage for a cracking climax. Phew, what a series it has been so far!</p>.<p><strong>SCOREBOARD </strong></p><p>INDIA (I Innings): 224 </p><p>ENGLAND (I Innings): 247 </p><p>INDIA (II Innings): 396 </p><p>ENGLAND (II Innings O/n: 50/1): Crawley b Siraj ....................................14 (36b 2x4) Duckett c Rahul b Prasidh ...............54 (83b 6x4) Pope lbw Siraj .....................................27 (34b 5x4) Root c Jurel b Prasidh ....................105 (152b 12x4) Brook c Siraj b Akash ......................111 (98b 14x4 2x6) Bethell b Prasidh ...................................5 (31b 1x4) Smith (batting) .......................................2 (17b) Overton (batting) ..................................0 (8b) Extras (B-1 LB-8 NB-1 W-1) 21 </p><p>TOTAL (for 6 wkts 76.2 overs) ..339 Fall of wickets: 1-50 (Crawley) 2-82 (Duckett) 3-106 (Pope) 4-301 (Brook) 5-332 (Bethell) 6-337 (Root). Bowling: Akash 20-4-85-1 (w-2 nb-1) Prasidh 22.2-3-109-3 (w-1) Siraj 26-5-95-2 Sundar 4-0-19-0 Jadeja 4-0-22-0. </p>