The Indian cricket team travels to London to take on England in the fourth Test at The Oval, starting Thursday, September 2. The five-match Test series is evenly poised at the moment, with both teams winning one match each after the first Test ended in a draw.
India were outdone in every department in the third Test. They were bowled out for a paltry 78 in the first innings and their batting unit collapsed on Day 4 as England won the match by an innings and 76 runs.
The Oval represents a stiff challenge as well since India haven’t won a Test match at the venue in 50 years, with their last victory coming way back in 1971. In fact, the team has the lowest win percentage (7.69) at The Oval as compared to 16 other venues where they have played 10 or more Tests.
Overall, India have played 13 Test matches at The Oval and have won just one.
India’s record at The Oval
| Date | Winning Team | Margin |
| Aug 15-18, 1936 | England | 9 Wickets |
| Aug 17-20, 1946 | Draw | - |
| Aug 14-19, 1952 | Draw | - |
| Aug 20-24, 1959 | England | Innings and 27 runs |
| Aug 19-24, 1971 | India | 4 Wickets |
| Aug 30-Sep 4, 1979 | Draw | - |
| Jul 8-13, 1982 | Draw | - |
| Aug 23-28, 1990 | Draw | - |
| Sep 5-9, 2002 | Draw | - |
| Aug 9-13, 2007 | Draw | - |
| Aug 18-22, 2011 | England | Innings and 8 runs |
| Aug 15-17, 2014 | England | Innings and 244 runs |
| Sep 7-11, 2018 | England | 118 runs |
On the contrary, England have enjoyed playing at the venue. Their captain, Joe Root, who has been in stupendous form having scored three hundreds already in the ongoing series, has also made two centuries in past Tests against India at the Oval.
The England captain has amassed 875 runs against India in Test cricket this year and he only needs 100 more runs to break the record for most runs against an opponent in a calendar year.
Don Bradman, with 974 runs against England in 1930, currently holds the record. As for Root, he has shown some weakness at The Oval too. The 30-year-old is averaging a mere 27.4 against spinners at the venue and has been dismissed by them five times in seven matches.
This is where Ravichandran Ashwin will come in handy for India. Although he hasn’t managed to get a place in the starting XI so far on the tour, the fact that The Oval has always been good for spinners will force India to bring him into the side.
England vs India squads for the fourth Test
England squad: Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow (wicket-keeper), Sam Billings, Rory Burns, Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
India squad: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav, Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav
Where to watch England vs India fourth Test live in India?
Live telecast of England vs India fourth Test will be available on Sony Six, Sony Ten 3, Sony Ten 4 and their corresponding HD TV channels in India on Thursday, September 2 from 3.30 pm IST.
Live streaming of England vs India fourth Test in India will be available on the SonyLiv app as well as the website.
Featured photo: AFP / Lindsey Parnaby
