So this brutal, gruelling series goes the distance, to the fifth day of the fifth Test just like all four Tests before it. England need 35 runs to win the match and the series; India need three and a half wickets to draw the series. The half is Chris Woakes, who was seen shuffling around the dressing room in full whites late in the day, with his dislocated shoulder in a sling, ready to go into battle should England need him.
England have Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton at the crease but they have Joe Root and Harry Brook to thank for getting to this position, only six sixes to the winning line as Brendon McCullum might see it. Chasing 374, the No 1 and No 3-ranked batsmen in the world both scored centuries as they demolished India’s towering lead. They rattled off the milestones at a rate of about one applause per over – Brook’s ton, their 150 partnership, 100 left to win, England’s 300th run – until Brook finally succumbed, charging Akash Deep and spooning the ball to cover.
