WTC Final 2023: Kohli, Rahane give India glimmer of hope after Australia set 444-run target on Day 4

Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane gave India a glimmer of hope with a solid fourth-wicket partnership after Australia set them a mammoth 444-run target on Day 4 of the ICC World Test Championship Final at The Oval. Kohli and Rahane were batting on 44 and 20 respectively, with the partnership between them worth 71 off 118 balls to keep India in the hunt for a draw — or a record-breaking victory — with the World Test Championship boiling down to the final day. India ended the day on 164/3, needing another 280 to end their decade-long wait for an ICC trophy with seven wickets in hand. Wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey earlier struck an unbeaten 66 and stitched valuable partnerships with Cameron Green (25) and Mitchell Starc (41) to help Australia declare on 270/8 in their second essay. Kohli, Rahane take over after Rohit’s confident start India began their run chase on a confident note with skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill collecting a flurry of boundaries early on. Rohit pulled his Australian counterpart Cummins behind square off the second delivery of the innings to open his as well as his team’s account. Gill got off the mark with a single off Scott Boland’s bowling in the following over, before launching an attack in Cummins’ second over with back-to-back fours, the first of which was a glorious punch through cover. The two were going strong and were on the verge of remaining unbeaten at the end of the afternoon session when Boland struck at the stroke of tea, removing Gill for a second time in this match with Cameron Green pulling off another blinder at gully. Unlike his catch to dismiss Rahane in the first innings though, this one was a lot more contentious as Gill stood his ground, leading to the on-field umpire taking it upstairs to TV umpire Richard Kettleborough.

It was a low catch by Green and the ball appeared dangerous close to the grass after the lanky all-rounder lunged to his left, but Kettleborough ultimately ruled it in favour of the bowling side after stating that Green had a finger under the ball and was in control of the ball as well as his body, much to the disappointment of Gill and to a round of boos from the Indian spectators. Rohit and Cheteshwar Pujara went about rebuilding the innings on the other side of the tea interval, the latter getting off the mark with a boundary off Boland in the same over in which Gill departed. Rohit would bat with authority at the other end, collecting two boundaries in three deliveries in Mitchell Starc’s second over as well as a boundary off Boland and Green to move into the 40s. The two eventually brought up the fifty partnership for the second wicket. [caption id=“attachment_12721232” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Australia skipper Pat Cummins celebrates with teammates after dismissing India batter Cheteshwar Pujara on Day 4 of the ICC World Test Championship Final. AP[/caption] He appeared set for his 15th Test half-century when he perished in Nathan Lyon’s first over of the day, getting trapped leg-before while attempting a paddle sweep. Pujara departed the next over in an uncharacteristic manner, nicking the ball to the keeper while attempting to ramp a short delivery from Cummins. With two wickets in a space of seven deliveries, Australia sensed the opportunity to trigger a collapse and inch closer to a commanding victory. Kohli and Rahane, however, had other plans. Rahane batted cautiously, having sustained a number of painful blows to his fingers in his defiant 89 not out in the first innings while Kohli took charge with a series of crisp drives through the covers and flicks through the midwicket region as well as a couple of shots down the ground. The manner in which he took the attack to the Aussies suggested this was a Kohli at the height of his powers, and a lot will depend on him if India are to salvage a draw, or pull off a record-breaking chase on the final day on Sunday. Carey, Starc help Australia set massive target Earlier, Australia began the day on a precarious position and suffered a blow early on as Marnus Labuschagne departed without adding to his overnight score of 41 after nicking the ball to Pujara in the slip cordon. At 128/5 with Green still in single figures, Team India sensed an opportunity to bowl the Aussies out for 200 or less and set themselves a target under 400 after conceding a first innings lead of 173. Wicketkeeper-batter Carey, whose knock of 48 in the first innings helped Australia cross 450, came in next and struck a boundary off his very first ball. Carey would stitch a steady partnership with an overtly-cautious Green for the sixth wicket, the latter facing 94 balls for his 25 before suffering an unlucky dismissal of Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling, getting a glove-thigh deflection onto the stumps while shaping for a leave. Carey would shift gears after Green’s dismissal and found an able ally in Starc, a handy batter for Australia down the order who produced the kind of cameo that the keeper-batter did on the second day. Starc would produce a fluent 47 off 57 balls, which included a number of well-timed pulls off short deliveries that would rival those of some top-order batters in terms of quality. [caption id=“attachment_12720642” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Australia wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey raises his bat in celebration after completing his half-century on Day 4 of the ICC World Test Championship at The Oval. Reuters[/caption] The two would add 93 for the seventh wicket that put a massive dent on India’s hopes, with their lead going past the 400-mark during this time. Carey would also bring up his fourth Test fifty along the way. Skipper Cummins decided to have a bat after Starc was dismissed by Shami, hoping to guide Australia past 300 with a few hits to or over the fence, but declared soon as he was dismissed by the Indian pace spearhead two overs later, leaving Carey unbeaten on 66 and setting India an improbably target of 444. Brief scores: Australia 469 and 270/8 in 84.3 overs (Alex Carey 66*, Mitchell Starc 41; Ravindra Jadeja 3/58) vs India 296 and 164/3 in 40 overs (target: 444) (Virat Kohli 44*, Rohit Sharma 43; Nathan Lyon 1/32). Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News ,  India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.