Both the Indian openers have done well to not lose any wicket in the final session of Day 2. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma played some brilliant cricket closing the gap on England's lead.
KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma have made a fast paced start to the second Indian innings. The picth appears to be better to bat than the first innings and the openers are looking to take advantage.
It was a brilliant effort from England tailenders as important contributions helped them take a 99 run lead. Chris Woakes' 6th Test fifty and Ollie Pope's half-century helped the hosts recover from a dire position of 62/5.
Wickets! England lose back-to-back wickets as Shardul Thakur removes the set Ollie Pope while Ravindra Jadeja accounts for Ollie Robinson.
England are slowly extending their lead in the game courtesy of a sensational knock from Ollie Pope. He and Cris Woakes are forming a nice partnership and will be aiming to add further to the score.
TEA! Ollie Pope has been the glue that has held the English innings together in this session. However, it has been the same story for the other batters as they have thrown away their wicket after getting a decent start.
Wicket! Ravindra Jadeja breaks the partnership as Moeen Ali throws his wicket away with a poor shot. The Englishman went for a big heave but managed a leading-edge, providing an easy catch to Rohit Sharma. Moeen Ali c Rohit b Jadeja 35(71).
England Take Lead! Ollie Pope and Moeen Ali have formed a brilliant partnership together as they have taken the hosts past India's first innings score. The duo will be aiming to build on this score.
Ollie Pope and Moeen Ali look to rebuild the English innings after the dismissal of Jonny Bairstow right after lunch. Pope scored his 6th Test fifty, also registering his first-ever against India.
Wicket! Mohammed Siraj once again does the trick for India as he breaks the partnership, dismissing Jonny Bairstow. This is a great start for the visitors post-lunch, who still have a slender lead in the game. Bairstow lbw b Siraj 37(77).
India and England are expected to put up a thrilling show on the second day of the fourth Test at the Oval. England clearly dominated the initial part of the match, picking wickets at regular intervals, never really allowing anyone to settle down for a big score. It was a rare failure for both Indian openers as KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma went sent back to the hut cheaply. And Pujara's poor form, despite a fighting 91 in Leeds, continued as he was dismissed by James Anderson. At a time when top-order failed, captain Virat Kohli stood up and fought his way to a 27th Test fifty. He also achieved the milestone of becoming the fastest to reach 23,000 runs in international runs. As a matter of fact, it was his innings that gave India a bit of momentum. But soon, Ollie Robinson once again got the better of the Indian skipper.
With Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant falling in quick succession, India found an unlikely hero in Shardul Thakur, who completely changed the tempo of the game with an entertaining 57 off 36 balls with three sixes and seven fours, He took on the English bowling without any fear but despite his effort, India could not score more than 191 runs.
However, the Indian bowlers stood up and performed with Jasprit Bumrah (2/15) removing both Haseeb Hameed (0) and Rory Burns (5) in the same over. Just when England looked like getting back on track with Dawid Malan and Joe Root hitting some fine boundaries, Umesh Yadav struck, removing the English skipper for just 21 runs. With Root gone, India have had a spring in their step and would aim to dominate proceedings right from the start of the second day.