India holds the upper hand at the halfway mark of the fifth and final Test at London’s Oval. Resuming at 50/1 chasing 374, England lost Ben Duckett early to a clever delivery from Prasidh Krishna effectively ending a resilient stand. 

Ollie Pope and Joe Root tried to steady the innings, but Pope fell lbw to Mohammed Siraj for 27 as England slipped to 106/3.

Siraj continued to weave pressure, later dismissing Zak Crawley with a brilliant yorker to reduce England to around 50/2 and leaving them facing a mountain of more than 320 runs. Meanwhile, India’s tail-end resilience shines through: nightwatchman Akash Deep crafted a crucial 66, joining the elite list of players like Imran Khan and Shane Warne with an unexpected Test half-century under pressure.

With England struggling under mounting run rate (3.8 rpo) and fielding errors continuing to haunt them, India seems poised to clinch a historic series win or at least snatch a final-Test triumph while holding a 2‑1 lead.