Fourth LV= Insurance test, the Kia Oval (day 3 of 5) India 191 (Thakur 56, Woakes 4-55) and 270-3 (Rohit 128, Pujara 61), England 290 (Pope 81, Woakes 50). India is 171 runs ahead Scorecard
After three days of fascinating fourth Test at Kia Oval, Rohit Sharma's imperious century gave India an edge over England.
Rohit made 127, his first Test hundred in India, and led the way for tourists to reach 270-3. This was a huge lead over 171.
He scored 83 with KL Rahul and then 153 with Cheteshwar Pujara. This was a remarkable feat for just 61.
Rohit was able to benefit from being dropped by Rory Burns for the second time, the same man who missed his chance to catch him the second night.
England was inspired by the second ball. Ollie Robinson took out both Rohit (and Pujara) in one electrifying over.
Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravindra Jadeja arrived to help. Jadeja had nine and Kohli had 22 when the bad light stopped play, leaving 13 overs to bowl.
India's decisive day
India might have won the series in a thrillingly contested match, which saw the sides arm wrestle for three consecutive days.
The overheads would have encouraged the bowlers so the tourists stuck together to the old-fashioned Test values and batted themselves into a position that will make them favourites.
There were moments when England was flat and the mood of the home side was as dark as the night sky.
England is not the only one to blame for some of its problems. They could have bowled India more cheaply and been more aggressive with the bat on day 2. They have only missed six wickets.
They are still in the contest. Early wickets Sunday with a ball of 12 overs may indicate that their fourth-innings target could be within reach.
If England is to win, however, they will need to be nearly perfect from now on.
Rohit finally heals travel sickness
Rohit is a great white-ball opener, but his rise to Test cricket stardom has been largely due to his performances in India.
He played with determination, control, and discipline in this 25th away Test to finally reach three figures abroad.
Burns missed him on Friday evening at six. On Friday, the same man dived one-handed off Robinson's second slip. Rohit was 31.
Rohit was given a reprieve and moved on to his slowest half century in Test cricket. He reached 145 balls with just two fours. Rohit's defense was solid but he only needed 59 more deliveries to reach 100. He reached the milestone with a magnificent six against Moeen Ali.
Pujara hurt his ankle in the first innings of his innings but played with unusual fluency on the cut.
The drama of The Oval's second ball brought life to the event, but Kohli's presence in England is concerning.
England finally recognized
It was a difficult day for England. Even though the clouds were visible almost throughout, England was faced with the challenge of batting at the highest level on flat pitches.
England was sometimes tired at times. Other times, England looked weary when an attack of four fastmedium bowlers was lacking variety and Moeen's off-spin was manipulated.
Dropped catches proved to be extremely costly, and Joe Root's side were oddly reluctant to cut short. Rohit only faced a bouncer after tea.
Rohit somehow helped to lengthen the leg of a Robinson loosener when the breakthrough did come.
Five balls later, Pujara in-edged onto his thigh.
Root was told that he could only use spin as the light got worse. He did this for two overs, before realizing it was too easy for the batsmen. England attempted to return to pace but the umpires intervened.
"Rohit makes batting look so simple"
Deep Dasgupta, former India wicketkeeper: "Rohit makes it look so easy it's just unfair." He was clearly happy when he put his bat up following his hundred, but there was also relief that the monkey was gone - it was his first away hundred.
Michael Vaughan, former England captain: "It hasn't surprised me that England have been struggling because the ball is not being nipping about. This is an issue not only for this game, but also for the winter in Australia.
Paul Collingwood, England assistant coach: "We've learned in this series momentum shifts very quickly. We hope to get the ball moving tomorrow and be able to bowl them out as cheaply as possible. We shouldn't be afraid of the totals we might have to bat in these conditions.
