England on the brink, India look for five

Match facts

December 8-12, 2016 Start time 9.30 local (0400GMT)

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Small margins. England have lost two Test matches because they haven’t minded them as much as they are capable of, and now, they have to win in Mumbai to stay alive in the series.

Alastair Cook has spoken about how he leads a side that can match India for skill and that the bowling they have faced has not been magical. Those comments were meant to put perspective on the scoreline that reads 2-0 against them; words that would have been stronger had they not been steeped with frustration.

James Anderson and company have bounced M Vijay out enough times to suggest a pattern, Ajinkya Rahane would invite disapproval from his home town should he fall to another poor shot and R Ashwin has had to man rescue operations from the lower-middle order. England have made their plays, had their chances, even won two tosses, just that when the moment to dig in came, they were found wanting.

A week’s worth of rest and time with family should have lifted their spirits though. Plus, if anything could help England forget how they let the opposition get away from 156 for 5 to 417 or how they lost wickets in the last over before stumps twice, it could be their return to Mumbai, the venue of one of their most famous victories.

India, on the other hand, drew the game in Rajkot despite chasing most of it, slammed two hundreds to offset the openers’ fall within the first five overs in Visakhapatnam and took four wickets in the morning session in Mohali to erase a spate of fielding errors. The tenacity that Virat Kohli’s men have shown has been a welcome sight to their fans. More importantly, it has put them in a position to win their fifth Test series in a row. Only once, in 84 years, has …

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