HIGHLIGHTS

• England went to Stumps at 77 for 0, needed 291 more to win
• The Day 5 of the Oval Test promises to offer a cracking contest
• Woakes said England have the belief after having done some special things in the recent past

England have never chassed down as many as 368 runs in the fourth innings of a Test match but all-rounder Chris Woakes backs the team to pull off an “incredible effort” against India on Day 5 of the ongoing 4th Test at Oval, London. The placid pitch and the good start given by England openers in the 4th innings have given the hosts confidence to go for the win, according to Woakes.

England need their highest-ever successful run chase and the 10th highest-ever chase if they are to get to 368 after India made 466 in their 2nd innings in the Oval Test. Notably, England scripted their highest-ever successful chase only 2 years ago in Leeds when Ben Stokes single-handedly helped them gun down 362 against Australia in the Ashes.

England made use of fine batting conditions as they went to Stumps on Day 4 at 77 for 0, needing 291 more runs to win on the final day. Openers Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed remained unbeaten as India pacers struggled to find any help from the Oval pitch which hasn’t disintegrated over the last 4 days of the 4th Test.

Ravindra Jadeja has rough to work with outside the left-hander’s off-stump but the star left-arm spinner was not able to provide a breakthrough for India on Day 4 despite bowling as many as 13 overs in the post-Tea session.

“This team has done some special things over the past few years in all different formats. You can draw on those experiences, what we have done in the past and what we are capable of as a team,” Woakes said.

“These are the times when you want to be a part of it (special victories). We’ve certainly got the belief we can get the win. A lot of hard work needs to be done. A lot of the time it’s just believing that you have the ability, then going out and executing.”

“To bat out tonight and be none down at the close was quality batting. We have a big day to hopefully force a fifth-day win.”

Chasing down 368 will be incredible: Woakes

Chris Woakes though maintained that it’s a long way to go and England must take it one hour at a time on Day 5, which promises to be a cracker.

India will be without their premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Shami, who has the knack of picking up wickets in bulk in the 2nd innings as both of them were not picked for the 4th Test.

“There’s a long way to go. To chase down that score would be an incredible effort – we have to tick it off slowly. Tomorrow (Monday) morning is going to be tricky again. We’ve got to keep reminding ourselves this pitch is good for batting and we can do it if we bat well all the way down,” he said