England tighten grip on fourth Test as India crumble

Fourth Test, The Oval (day three):

England 591-6 v India 103-5

Fourth Test

• Venue: The Oval
• Date: August 18-22
• Start time: 1100 BST
• Coverage: Live ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC 5 live sports extra, BBC Radio 4 Long Wave & BBC Sport website; live video scorecard on Red Button (not Freeview); live text commentary on BBC Sport website & mobile; watch live on Sky Sports (subscription required); highlights each evening on Channel 5

 

 Swann celebrates the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar at The Oval 

England tightened their grip on the fourth Test against India by posting a massive first innings total and tearing through the tourists' fragile top order.

Ian Bell took his score to a Test-best 235 as England batted positively from the outset to lift their first innings total to 591-6 before rain stopped play at the lunch interval.
The loss of 35 overs prompted Andrew Strauss to declare and England made the perfect start with the ball by removing Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman in the first four overs.
Graeme Swann then snared Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina and nightwatchman Ishant Sharma as India crumbled to 103-5, with Rahul Dravid standing tall through the mayhem to reach 57 not out.

Saturday's play summed up the series, with England flaying the tourists' bowling before underlining their supremacy with a clatter of wickets.
The contrast between the teams' attitude to preparation was summed-up during the rain delay.
While the England squad went through a lengthy warm-up routine, not a single India player set foot on the outfield to get loosened up for the re-start.
India began their innings effectively a man down with opener Gautam Gambhir receiving medical treatment for concussion after his head hit the ground when he dropped Kevin Pietersen on Friday afternoon.
Sehwag, out for a king pair at Edgbaston, scored his first runs of the series successive fours off James Anderson. But the last ball of the first over thudded into his pads and umpire Simon Taufel raised the finger.
Laxman was the next to fall, hanging the bat out to a ball from Stuart Broad that nipped off the seam and took the edge.