STUMPS: ENGLAND 198/7 in 90 Overs (Buttler 11, Rashid 4)
Rashid plays out a fierce inswinging yorker from Bumrah in the last ball of the day. What a remarkable turnaround this has been for India. The script took a slight detour from England’s usual pattern. This time, the top-order fired before the middle-order folded up in no time.

The Indian pacers added another feather to their cap. Ishant and Bumrah were nearly unplayable at times, and so was Shami, even though he has no wickets to show for it. Cook didn’t disappoint in what we presume is his penultimate innings. England let advantage slip and a relentless Indian pace battery made regular inroads.

England have a lot to ponder about as they prepare for a tour to Sri Lanka. Root’s never-ending run of poor scores and Bairstow’s sudden loss of form have played a huge part in the middle-order suffering one cycle-stand collapse after another in this series. It remains to be seen what Buttler can do with the tail. It was India’s day by a mile.

Mind you, Alastair Cook (190-ball 71) finishes as the England batsmen with the best strike rate on day one. How many people would have bet on that?

ENGLAND 198/7 in 89 Overs (Buttler 10, Rashid 4)
Buttler adds a couple of runs off Shami with a roll of the wrists. Signs of fatigue from the Indian pacer but he has done his bit, teasing the batsman’s outside edge.

ENGLAND 196/7 in 88 Overs (Buttler 8, Rashid 4)
Bumrah steams in and gets prodigious in-swing. Rashid plays it out and even gets a boundary, dabbing it down to the third-man fence.

The second new-ball is taken

In other matters, Shami was generating deadly swing in the previous. This has been the case all through the final session, where the England batsmen have had no answers.

ENGLAND 191/7 in 87 Overs (Buttler 8, Rashid 0)
ENGLAND RETAIN A REVIEW! Buttler is beaten by a Shami inswinger and umpire Dharmasena raises his finger for leg-before. It looked plumb but voila, there was a spike on the hotspot. The stumpcam also caught the inside edge from Buttler’s bat.

ENGLAND 186/7 in 85 Overs in (Buttler 8, Rashid 0)
NOT OUT! The ball swung back in late again and it crashed onto Buttler’s pad and bobbed up straight to Kohli. The Indian captain was convinced that it got the England wicket-keeper’s bat on its way to him. Umpire Dharmasena went upstairs but the replays showed that the ball had missed the bat by some distance. How do you reply? A gorgeous cover-drive as Ishant over-pitched – a rare one, that.

WICKET! S Curran lbw b Ishant 0 (2), ENGLAND 182/7 after 83 overs
The wickets simply can’t stop falling. ‘Superman’ Curran’s stay at the crease ends on a whimper this time. The England all-rounder tried to move his bat away from the Ishant outswinger and gets an edge. Pant completes another catch.

Oh boy, how many saw this coming? India may have probably taken their most crucial wicket yet.

WICKET! Moeen Ali c Pant b Ishant 50 (170), ENGLAND 177/6 after 82 overs
That’s the wicket India needed and it’s a tame end to Moeen’s defiant stay. Yet another peach from the India pacer and it finds the toe edge of the left-hander’s bat before going through to keeper Pant.

India continue to operate with the old ball. The new ball is available.

England 177/5 after 82 overs (Ali 50, Buttler 3)
Moeen Ali reaches fifty. Talk about impact. The England all-rounder’s dream comeback to Test cricket continues. He gets to the landmark with a drive to long-off for a single against Jadeja.

England 175/5 after 80 overs (Ali 48, Buttler 3)
Some relief for England as Buttler works the ball to third man and completes a couple. The pressure from India has been relentless and the runs have come at a premium for the English.

WICKET! B Stokes lbw b Jadeja 11 (40), England 171/5 after 77.3 overs
That was plumb and Stokes makes the long walk back. The wickets keep on tumbling. Stokes tried to work the ball across the line but he was yorked and umpire Wilson, this time, had no hesitation in raising his finger.

England 164/4 after 75 overs

Huzzah, a clean strike by Moeen Ali! What did he have during the drinks break? Despite getting beaten by Shami to the mandatory one-time-per-over, he drives one through cover elegantly for a four.

Jadeja continues from the other end.

Meanwhile, the story for Rishabh Pant...

9.46 pm: Right, back for the last hour. 16 overs left in the day. Six overs before the new ball. And Moeen Ali has a century to his name.... for the difference between runs scored and balls faced.

DRINKS: England 159/4 after 74 overs

Apologies for the lack of updates in the past 30 minutes. A technical snag at our end.

England, meanwhile, have not suffered more snags after that 3-wicket burst between Ishant and Bumrah. Jadeja and Shami bowling in tandem now and it’s been a wayward spell by Shami as he has conceded two boundaries down the leg side due to excessive swing – poor Rishabh Pant, it gets added to his byes tally.

Last four overs: Three runs and three wickets. Stuff of dreams from the Indian bowlers

WICKET! ENGLAND 134/4 in 64.4 Overs, J Bairstow c Pant b Ishant 0 (4)
Another one goes! India have their tail up and England’s familiar middle-order woes stretch on for another innings. Bairstow’s stay at the crease lasts three balls longer than his previous essay. The result stays the same – a duck, third in his last four innings. Ishant tests Bairstow’s edge with a peach outside the off-stump, and it’s a caught-behind.

WICKET! J Root lbw b Bumrah 0 (3), ENGLAND 133/3 in 63.5 Overs
ENGLAND LOSE A REVIEW Some wise man said on this pitch, one wicket can lead to a second. That is exactly how it has panned out. Root’s miserable summer continues as he beaten for pace and swing by Bumrah’s vicious inswinger. Umpire Wilson takes an age before raising his finger. The England captain opts for a review but that was crashing onto leg stump. India are back with a bang.

WICKET! A Cook b Bumrah 71 (190), ENGLAND 133/2 in 63.3 Overs
There was no fairytale century this time around for Cook as he chops on and Bumrah gets his first. The crowd is stunned before standing up and cheering their former captain to the pavilion.

ENGLAND 132/1 in 62 Overs (Cook 70, Ali 28)
Ali nearly chopped the ball onto his stumps when Bumrah cut down on the pace, trying the leg-cutter that Ishant troubled Cook with in the previous over. This time, though, the England no 3 showed better technique to put bat on ball.

ENGLAND 131/1 in 61 Overs (Cook 69, Ali 28)
INDIA LOSE BOTH THEIR REVIEWS Yet another poor one from the visitors. Cook was rapped on the pads by Ishant and the bowler and his slip fielders were convinced they had their man. Kohli took the review after umpire Dharmasena turned Ishant’s appeal down. Replays showed the ball going well over the stumps. It looked that way at first glance too. Yet another sign of desperation from India. Three runs from the over.

ENGLAND 128/1 in 60 Overs (Cook 67, Ali 27)
Ali’s tryst with playing and missing continues but he does well to flick one off his hips to earn a boundary. Bumrah was trying to bring the ball back into Ali whereas with Cook, he tried to land the ball that was going away.

The players are back for the final session. Bumrah has the ball in his hand. Cook to take strike.

TEA TIME: ENGLAND 123/1 in 59 Overs (Cook 66, Ali 23)
In the final Test of the series, England show what their top order should have been doing in the first two Tests: Blunt the bowling attack on the first day to set the tone for the middle and lower middle-order. Cook has served up a sumptuous dish in his final session so far. Ali is on a misson to frustrate the life of the Indian bowlers. Either way, both batsmen were handed lives by the Indian fielders. The ball dominated the bat in this session but sadly, for the Indians, the wickets column doesn’t display that. Interesting final session of play in store.

ENGLAND 121/1 in 57 Overs (Cook 64, Ali 23)
Surprise, surprise. Ali plays out a maiden. All of Ishant’s deliveries were angled on the off-stump channel. The England all-rounder was happy to blunt it out.

Ishant Sharma comes back into the attack.

ENGLAND 121/1 in 56 Overs (Cook 64, Ali 23)
Meanwhile, Cook is not missing out on the bad deliveries. Here again, Jadeja goes short and wide and Cook thumps it through covers for a four. The left-arm spinner has struggled with his lengths by a touch this session.

This sums up how good Shami has been so far:

ENGLAND 117/1 in 55 Overs (Cook 60, Ali 23)
Shami continues to bowl full and hurl it at pace. Runs are coming at a premium for England so far. The session run-rate is less that two runs per over.

ENGLAND 115/1 in 53 Overs (Cook 58, Ali 23)
More play and miss from Moeen off Shami. The Indian pacer can’t believe that he has not had a wicket so far. This has been immaculate from Shami. Luck, though, continues to desert him.

ENGLAND 113/1 in 51 Overs (Cook 56, Ali 23)
More play and miss from Ali facing Shami. Ali, so far, has taken a leaf out of Cook’s book and is surviving. Just about, though. Shami continues to close to unplayable in his second spell.

ENGLAND 111/1 in 50 Overs (Cook 55, Ali 22)
More vintage Cook as he penalises Jadeja for over-pitching and drives down the ground to earn another boundary.

ENGLAND 107/1 in 49 Overs (Cook 51, Ali 22)
Jadeja struggled with his line in the last over, drifting the ball down the leg-side thrice in one over. Shami continued to bring the batsmen forward and bowling at pace.

ENGLAND 106/1 in 47 Overs (Cook 51, Ali 21)
Half-century for Cook The former England captain pushes the ball down the ground, completes a couple and raises his bat. This has been vintage Cook – seeing out a tough phase, displaying grit and grinding the bowlers down. Can he convert it to a three-figure score?

ENGLAND 103/1 in 46 Overs (Cook 49, Ali 21)
Jadeja goes short and wide and Cook whips it on the off-side for a boundary. The former England captain moves one short of his half-century. India’s period of frustration continues.

ENGLAND 99/1 in 45 Overs (Cook 45, Ali 20)
Shami beats Ali one again. Another peach bowled at pace and the batsman was forced to play at it. Pant cant get his hands down on time and the ball races to the fence.

ENGLAND 95/1 in 44 Overs (Cook 45, Ali 20)
Jadeja goes around the wicket and tempts Cook to drive on the up on the leg-side. There is a short mid-on in place and the ploy nearly works. Just one from the over.

ENGLAND 94/1 in 43 Overs (Cook 44, Ali 19)
Shami comes back with two deliveries that hiss Cook’s outside edge, getting some solid away swing going. Cook plays out the rest of the over but there was genuine pace and carry for the Bengal pacer.

ENGLAND 93/1 in 41 Overs (Cook 44, Ali 19)
Shami is struggling with his length a touch and bowls a wayward wide delivery on leg stump. Pant does well to stop the ball from reaching to the boundary. Two from the over.

ENGLAND 91/1 in 40 Overs (Cook 44, Ali 17)
The batsmen negotiate it calmly. Jadeja goes around the wicket and is trying to angle the ball on leg-stump, bringing the leg-slip in play, much like what he did to Jennings. Two from the over.

Jadeja is brought back and there are men around the bat for Cook

ENGLAND 89/1 in 39 Overs (Cook 43, Ali 16)
Moeen eases some of the pressure that he has been under since the break with two drives. The second one of those fetched him a boundary, hitting Shami down the ground. More frustration for luckless India.

Ishant is taken off the attack and in comes Shami

ENGLAND 83/1 in 38 Overs (Cook 43, Ali 10)
After bowling a series of terrific overs, he pitches it fractionally full and wide and Cook drives it past mid-off and into the fence. The Indian bowlers are still the ones asking all the questions.

ENGLAND 78/1 in 36 Overs (Cook 39, Ali 10)
Ali gets to double figures by digging out a yorker and flicking it on the leg side. Bumrah continues to toil away without much luck. There was a big shout for a leg-before in the last ball of the over off Ali but that was missing leg.

ENGLAND 75/1 in 35 Overs (Cook 38, Ali 8)
The session so far: 7 Overs, 7 runs, two drop catches and one lost review. It’s been a Bumrah and Ishant show from the first ball as Cook and Ali are on a leaving spree. Both the Indian pacers have looked menacing and a wicket looks imminent.

ENGLAND 74/1 in 34 Overs (Cook 37, Ali 8)
REVIEW LOST India take a review after Ali fails to offer a shot and the ball nips back and clips the pad. Umpire Wilson rules it not out. Replays showed that the ball was going just over the stumps. Meanwhile, Ali, who has been living dangerously gets the first runs of the session. Bumrah is in the middle of a brilliant spell.

ENGLAND 68/1 in 32 Overs (Cook 37, Ali 2)

DROPPED! Oh dear. After the Indian vice-captain, it’s the turn of the Indian captain! Virat Kohli is a tad late to react to an outside edge from Ali and puts down an admittedly tough chance. Bumrah the bowler this time, the ball once again moving late when pitched up. Ali, under a bit of pressure, throws his bat at it and the edge flew to Kohli.

Four maiden overs to start the session... the Indian bowlers (not for the first time in this series) must be feeling pretty let down.

ENGLAND 68/1 in 31 Overs (Cook 37, Ali 2)

DROPPED! A farewell gift to Alastair Cook from India? Ishant squares up Cook with the over-the-wicket angle and Rahane puts down a low catch at 4th-5th slip. Could prove quite costly, that really should have been taken – first attempt or rebound.
Another maiden over... good start by the Indian bowlers to the second session.

ENGLAND 68/1 in 30 Overs (Cook 37, Ali 2)

Well, that was a brilliant over by Bumrah to Moeen Ali. Evidently trying to bowl a lot fuller than India did in the first session and beats Ali’s outside edge with a couple of peaches.

Speaking of bowling in the first session, this tweet tells you where India might have erred early on (or maybe that was their ploy to keep the runs tight early on, you never know)

ENGLAND 68/1 in 29 Overs (Cook 37, Ali 2)

A maiden over from Ishant to start things off as he goes back over the tweet to Cook, interestingly. Mostly just operating the angle and Cook more than happy to leave the balls.

6.08 pm: We are back for the second session at The Oval - a little early by our clocks. Ishant Sharma to Alastair Cook...

6.01 pm: There’s been quite a bit of chatter about Karun Nair’s exclusion...

5.54 pm: Only one wicket fell during that innings and this is how that went down.

LUNCH: ENGLAND 68/1 in 28 Overs (Cook 37, Ali 2)

A 28-over session. Cook remains unbeaten after the first session on what has been a great pitch to bat on so far. India have been disciplined with the ball, without threatening too much – that one instance in the last over when Bumrah beat Ali with a peach was all too rare. One gets the feeling it’s going to a lot of work for Jadeja in the next two sessions with the pacers rotating among themselves. Jennings will be mighty disappointed on missing out on a chance to score big...

STAT ALERT: On why it’s been, perhaps, the best session for opening batsmen in this series...

ENGLAND 67/1 in 27 Overs (Cook 32, Ali 1)

Maiden over from Shami who bowls a steady full length at Ali from around the wicket, but not enough to force him to play. Not this close to lunch, anyway.

ENGLAND 67/1 in 25 Overs (Cook 32, Ali 1)

After getting the breakthrough, Jadeja is removed from the attack. (Kohli and his methods, eh!?) Bumrah replaces him... and starts with a jaffa to Ali from round the wicket. Gets it to shape away after angling in.

ENGLAND 64/1 in 25 Overs (Cook 32, Ali 1)

Another steady over from Shami, lucky to get away with a good length ball on pads that Cook hit straight to midwicket.

Here’s a look at the first wicket - it did look like Jennings almost guided to Rahul but it might have been the bounce that caught him off guard.

WICKET - JENNINGS GONE!

ENGLAND 62/1 in 24 Overs (Cook 32, Ali 1)

There’s the breakthrough for India and it’s Jadeja who strikes. This is a bizarre shot by Jennings who almost guides a ball into the hands of KL Rahul at the leg slip. Jennings poor run of scores continues as he falls for 23.

Moeen Ali is the new batsman in...

ENGLAND 60/0 in 23 Overs (Cook 29, Jennings 21)

Another Shami over, another appeal. Mostly just Rishabh Pant being an excitable wicket-keeper – Cook was nowhere close to gloving that attempted pull down the leg side.

A maiden over by Shami.

ENGLAND 60/0 in 22 Overs (Cook 29, Jennings 21)

Jadeja induces the mistake from Jennings as the left-hander steps down the track and attempts a big shot over long on but is hurried by Jadeja’s pace – the leading edge lands safely. That was preceded by an uneventful Shami over.

Meanwhile, what a stat this is!

ENGLAND 56/0 in 20 Overs (Cook 29, Jennings 21)

An appeal each for Shami and Jadeja in those over but largely academic ones at that – neither very close to being LBW.

ENGLAND 53/0 in 18 Overs (Cook 28, Jennings 19)

50 partnership between Cook and Jennings - the first 50-plus opening stand for England in this series! Are we on course to see an opening batsman (from either side) reach a 50 for the first time this series? Jadeja continues and there is a hint of movement off the pitch – perhaps because of the moisture in the pitch early on.

ENGLAND 49/0 in 17 Overs (Cook 27, Jennings 16)

Shami continues round the wicket and looks like he is getting the ball move in the air – a nice shape into Jennings. Nothing threatening yet though.

ENGLAND 48/0 in 16 Overs (Cook 26, Jennings 16)

After that Hanuma Vihari over to take us to drinks, Shami and Jadeja have started proceedings in the second hour. Shami starts off by getting the outside edge off Cook and Gavaskar is not a happy man that there is no gully in a catching position.

Jadeja’s first over is an eventful one – four byes down the leg side, a couple of LBW appeals, followed by a Keaton Jennings reverse sweep for four.

ENGLAND 31/0 in 13 Overs (Cook 17, Jennings 12)

Hanuma Vihari is into the attack

ENGLAND 31/0 in 13 Overs (Cook 17, Jennings 12)
Bumrah beats Jennings’s outside edge with a gem, pitching on good length and deviating from the southpaw just as he lined up to drive. It narrowly missed the edge. Bumrah, though, ends the over with a lose delivery down leg-stump, which is duly put away by Jennings to the fence.

ENGLAND 26/0 in 11 Overs (Cook 17, Jennings 7)
Yet again, the openers comfortably see out the ones pitched on or just outside the off-stump but diligently take singles. Ishant has been marginally better than Bumrah so far.

ENGLAND 24/0 in 8 Overs (Cook 17, Jennings 6)
Cook is on the march. After four good overs, Bumrah offers width and goes short – they were dispatched to the fence with some authority by Cook. England are off to a good start here.

ENGLAND 16/0 in 7 Overs (Cook 9, Jennings 6)
When was the last time England played out seven overs without losing a wicket? Well, that sums up how easy batting has been on this Oval wicket so far. There is no lack of effort from India, though. Ishant and Bumrah are pitching it up and keeping it full, probing the batsmen’s outside edge.

The pitch looks good for batting and is a touch dry. The series has not been easy for the openers with batsmen from both sides not getting a fifty. Can this Test change that trend?

ENGLAND 13/0 in 4 Overs (Cook 8, Jennings 4)
Ishant drifts it on leg stump and Cook flicks it away to the boundary in style. The Indian pacer, though, recovers well in the over and finishes the over with four dot balls, not giving any width to the former England captain.

ENGLAND 7/0 in 2 Overs (Cook 3, Jennings 3)
Cook gets off the mark by caressing a lose delivery from Ishant Sharma outside off stump. The batsmen run three and the crowd approves with a huge roar. Jennings also gets his first runs in a similar fashion. Solid forward defence from Cook to end the over.

Cook receives a guard of honour from India

ENGLAND 1/0 in 1 Overs (Cook 0, Jennings 0)
There is nip and seam as Bumrah bowls from wide of the crease, over the wicket. The third delivery narrowly hisses past Cook’s outside edge. England get off the mark with a bye as Pant spills it down the leg side.

3:30 pm: Jasprit Bumrah to start proceedings. Chef to take take strike.

3:25 pm: Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings make their way to the centre

3:22 pm: Sunil Gavaskar was not pleased with Karun Nair receiving the snub. The batting great said: “Absolute nonsense! All the best to Vihari, not taking anything away from him but Karun deserves an answer on why he’s not been picked”

Joe Root equals a unique feat

3:12 pm: “Absolute nonsense! All the best to Vihari, not taking anything away from him but Karun deserves an answer on why he’s not been picked”

England: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Moeen Ali, Joe Root(c), Jonny Bairstow (w), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

India: Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah

Changes: England are unchanged from the previous Test. Pandya loses his spot and in comes debutant Vihari. Jadeja replaces Ashwin.

TOSS: Joe Root has won the toss and opted to bat first. Kohli loses his fifth toss in a row. “I think I need a coin with two heads; that’s the only way I can win a toss,” says Kohli.

3:00 pm: Cook’s retirement will be a motivation to win the final Test against India, says Joe Root – READ

2.56 pm: While Hanuma Vihari gets his first cap, a legend of the game gets his last. What a career it has been for Alastair Cook!

2.51 pm: Interesting nugget, this. MSK Prasad, incidentally, is also the chairman of selectors.

2.48 pm: A little bit on Hanuma Vihari for the uninitiated.

He is a right-handed batsman who plays for Andhra in the domestic circuit and has been a regular with India A in the recent past. His Ranji Trophy numbers from last season read: 10 innings, 752 runs, Highest 302*, Average 94.00, two 100s and three 50s. Can bowl part-time off-spin.

02.42 pm: Team news coming in... Hanuma Vihari will make his debut like the pre-match reports had suggested.

02:36 pm: Will India be up for the fight in a lost series?

“This is a team that will not throw in the towel,” Shastri told reporters at The Oval on Wednesday.

“It will come out there and look to compete and not be on the first flight home, rest assured that’s exactly what we will do.”

The frustration for India, who earlier this year lost 2-1 in South Africa, is that two Tests in the current series – a 31-run loss in the opener at Edgbaston and the Southampton clash could well have gone their way, particularly if captain Virat Kohli had enjoyed more support with the bat.

Kohli is the leading batsman in the series with 544 runs at an average of 68, including two hundreds, yet he will end up on the losing side.

“I think you have got to get tough mentally,” said Shastri when asked how India could improve their away record.

“We have run teams close overseas and we have competed. But now it’s not about competing. We have to win games from here.”

02:30 pm: Hello all and welcome to the live blog of the fifth Test between India and England. The venue is The Oval and day one will be crucial for India if they are to end this tour on a high. Will Virat Kohli finally win a toss? What changes will India make?

Ravi Shastri has promised India “will not throw in the towel” when they face Englandin the fifth Test at The Oval starting Friday despite having already lost the series.

England’s 60-run win in the fourth Test at Southampton gave them an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match contest.

It also meant India, for all they are the world’s top-ranked Test side, had now won just one of their last nine series outside Asia.

The Oval clash has been given added significance by the fact it will be the last appearance before international retirement for Alastair Cook, England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer.

But India coach Shastri, who helped his country to a 1986 series win in England, is determined the tourists spoil the party.

(With AFP inputs)