India’s hopes in the fourth innings of the World Test Championship final took a major hit after Virat Kohli edged a wide ball from Scott Boland, with Steve Smith taking an absolute blinder while diving to his left at slip. The dismissal handed India a major blow as they chase a historic win in the final at the Oval; the side are chasing a 444-run target; if successful, it would be a record run-chase in Test cricket.
Kohli looked to attack a wide ball from Boland after being confined to defensive shots for a major part of the opening 30 minutes of the session, but his expansive drive only found a thick edge. Steve Smith completed a sharp catch in the slip cordon, sending Kohli back into the hut for 49. Kohli had looked in top form on the evening of day 4, but fell early on day 5 without being able to add on too many more runs.
Two balls later, Ravindra Jadeja also feathered an edge through to Alex Carey, leaving India reeling.
Upon Kohli’s dismissal, cameras turned to his wife Anushka Sharma sitting in the crowd, looking shell-shocked and bemused at the wicket falling that early into an important day of play. In many ways, Anushka’s reaction reflected that of all the spectators and fans watching from home, as the writing looked to be on the wall once Smith held on to the thick edge.
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Kohli was seen as India’s best chance at completing a record chase in the WTC final, but an already tall order looks to be a settled matter with India’s most prolific Test batter no longer at the crease.
Earlier, India had begun Day 5 at 164/3 with both, Kohli and Rahane looking in excellent touch. While Kohli took on the Aussie pacers early in his innings, Rahane continued from where he left in the first innings, where he was the highest run-getter for the side (89).
