Tongue mops up India as England fight back

JOSH TONGUE lived up to his new nickname by blowing away India's tail for the second time in three days and reviving England’s hopes of an unlikely win in the first Test at Headingley.

- By RORY DOLLARD

India were streets ahead for most of the fourth day, KL Rahul’s 137 and Rishabh Pant's 118 taking their team to a remarkable five centuries in the match, but England came back fighting late on.

Tongue conjured a triple-wicket maiden as India lost their last six batters for just 31 to finish 364 all out, reprising his first-innings role as tail-end destroyer.

Nottinghamshire team-mate Ben Duckett dubbed him ‘the mop’ after he forced a similar collapse on day two and he was at it again here, wiping out Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah in the space of four balls.

That left England needing 371 for a remarkable win - just seven short of the record chase they managed against the same opposition at Edgbaston in 2022. Zak Crawley and Duckett scored 21 of those in six overs before the close, leaving 350 still to make on what could be a blockbuster final day.

England drew first blood just seven balls into the day's play, Brydon Carse cutting down Shubman Gill's stumps via a big inside edge. With a slim overnight lead of 96 and one of their eight remaining wickets snapped up quickly, the heat was on the batting side.