Australia look set to begin the Ashes as Test world champions as they made light of missed opportunities to move into a winning position on day three against India.
With a week to go until their series opener against rivals England, Australia pressed home their advantage in the World Test Championship final as they stretched their advantage to 296 by the close of play.
Australia may not have been at their ruthless best at the Oval, allowing three chances to go down in the morning session and seeing captain Pat Cummins denied his second wicket of the match for a front-foot no-ball, but their quality shone through regardless.
Even with their profligacy in the field they were able to bowl their opponents out for 296 – a lead of 173 – before making their way to 123 for four at stumps.
Cameron Green also offered a pointed riposte to any concerns over their catching, leaping to grab a one-handed stunner after lunch to see off India’s top-scorer Ajinkya Rahane (89).
Australia’s first-innings centurions Steve Smith and Travis Head both fell to spinner Ravindra Jadeja but the world’s number one ranked batter, Marnus Labuschagne, spent valuable time in the middle as he made 41 not out.
India began the day on 151 for five and had a nightmare start when Scott Boland’s scattered Srikar Bharat’s stumps with the second ball of the day. That left India 317 behind with just four wickets in hand but despite a relentless attacking effort from the bowlers, that proved the only breakthrough of the morning.
Boland came within inches of striking a second time in the opening over, snaring a thick edge from Shardul Thakur, but the leaping Usman Khawaja was unable to gather a chance that squirmed free.
Thakur needed plenty of steel to stick around, requiring lengthy treatment after being hit three times by Cummins in a single over – wearing blows on the forearm, wrist and glove. Having softened him up, the seamer should have got his rewards when Thakur sprayed a chance to gully but this time Green’s handiwork let him down.
With Thakur in a state of almost permanent peril, Rahane gave the vocal Indian crowd something to cheer when he hooked Cummins over fine-leg for six to bring up his half-century. He passed 5,000 Test runs soon after, the 13th Indian to do so, but he also required a stroke of fortune to reach the break.
On 72 he aimed a flowing drive at Cummins, sending a head-high catch to first slip. Wicketkeeper Alex Carey appeared to offer a minor distraction to David Warner, but he will still be kicking himself after parrying the edge.
Australia’s annoyance only increased when Cummins saw an lbw decision against Thakur overturned by a no-ball call. It was a case of history repeating for Cummins, who had also lost a wicket to over-stepping on day two when Rahane was reprieved on 17.
Australia needed a pick-me-up and Green provided it in style at the start of the afternoon session, showing razor-sharp reactions and athleticism to take a jaw-dropping catch that ended Rahane’s stay. Cummins was the beneficiary and he made sure to cash in when he cleaned up Umesh Yadav for five.
Thakur reached 51 before being undone by Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc finished things up by bouncing out Mohammed Shami.
The India-dominant crowd did their best to create a hostile atmosphere for the Australian batters, with Warner an early casualty as he nicked off to Mohammed Siraj. Labuschagne was woken from a nap on the balcony to dash out at number three and he occupied the crease for the rest of the day, soaking up 118 balls.
Khawaja missed out for the second time in the match when he swung hard at Yadav and fed Bharat another catch, before Jadeja took advantage of some attacking strokes from Smith and Head. The former holed out on the charge, with Head feeding a return catch back to the spinner, but Australia’s lead was growing all the time to leave India struggling.
Seales takes second five-wicket haul in a row for Sussex; Holder smashes 123* for Worcestershire
Jayden Seales continued his excellent form so far for Sussex CCC in this season’s County Championship Division Two with another five-wicket haul, this time against Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
Seales has, so far, taken 5-101 in 23 overs as Glamorgan have advanced to 411-9 off 102 overs, replying to Sussex’s 278 all out off 87.2 overs on day one.
Glamorgan’s batting effort was led by excellent centuries from Colin Ingram and Kiran Carlson.
Ingram led the way with a 248-ball 170 including 23 fours and three sixes while Carlson made 148 off 217 balls and hit 21 fours in the process.
Seales and Sussex will enter day three on Sunday trailing Glamorgan by 133 runs looking to dismiss them as quickly as possible.
Full scores:
Sussex 278 off 87.2 overs (Fynn Hudson-Prentice 48, Cheteshwar Pujara 41, Jack Carson 39, Aristides Karvelas 39, Mir Hamza 4-70, James Harris 4-93)
Glamorgan 411-9 off 102 overs (Colin Ingram 170, Kiran Carlson 148, Jayden Seales 5-101)
Elsewhere, Jason Holder was one of three Worcestershire batsmen to make centuries as they piled up a massive 618-7 declared in their first innings against Kent on day two at the St. Lawrence Ground in Canterbury.
Holder made a brilliant 123* off just 110 balls including seven fours and three sixes while Gareth Roderick and Matthew Waite both also reached three figures with 117 and 100*, respectively.
Adam Hose fell just ten runs short of a century himself.
Joey Evison and Matt Parkinson each ended with three wicket-hauls for Kent.
In reply, Kent reached 111-2 at stumps with Captain Daniel Bell-Drummond (54*0 and Jack Leaning (43*) at the crease.
Joe Leach has taken both wickets to fall so far.
Full scores:
Worcestershire 617-8 dec. off 158.5 overs (Jason Holder 123*, Gareth Roderick 117, Matthew Waite 100*, Adam Hose 90, Joey Evison 3-58, Matt Parkinson 3-201)
Kent 111-2 off 33 overs (Daniel Bell-Drummond 54*, Jack Leaning 43*, Joe Leach 2-12)
Small role for Russell, Narine struggles with bat and ball as leaders KKR seal playoff place with win over Mumbai Indians
Indian Premier League leaders Kolkata Knight Riders extended their winning streak to four matches and sealed their place in the playoffs by defeating Mumbai Indians in a match impacted by rain on Saturday.
A delayed start to the contest meant it was limited to 16 overs per side, and KKR made it to 157-7 with Venkatesh Iyer producing a quick-hitting 42 runs from 21 balls, as Jasprit Bumrah (2-39) and Piyush Chawla (2-28) both made an impact with the ball.
While Sunil Narine went without scoring, Andre Russell contributed a 14-ball 24 toward the backend of the KKR innings, including two fours and two sixes.
The Indians looked likely to chase down their victory target when they reached 65-0 in the early stages, as they looked to improve on a fine 7-3 record at KKR's Eden Gardens.
But the wicket of Ishan Kishan in the seventh over sparked a rapid collapse, with Mumbai – already eliminated from the competition – quickly falling to 92-5 and ultimately losing by 18 runs.
Russell returned to grab 2-34 from three overs, sharing the wickets with Harshit Rana (2-34), Varun Chakaravarthy (2-17) and Narine, who had 1-21 from his three overs.
KKR remain top of the standings. As well as being the first team to seal their progress, they look good to secure a crucial top-two finish which would give them two chances to reach the final. They now have 18 points, two clear of Rajasthan Royals, who play Chennai Super Kings in one of two games due to take place on Sunday.
Data Debrief: Bumrah eyeing Purple Cap
While this was the latest setback in a highly disappointing season for Mumbai, who are second-bottom of the standings, Bumrah has been a prolific threat.
He took another two key wickets in this one, removing KKR dangerman Sunil Narine for a golden duck and halting a charge from Rinku Singh (20 from 12) in the final over.
That took India bowler Bumrah's season tally to 20, putting him level with Punjab Kings' Harshal Patel at the top of the Purple Cap standings.
The final figures could have been even better for Bumrah, who was frustrated to be hit for six by Ramandeep Singh (17 from 8) in the final ball of the KKR innings and earlier had an lbw decision against Nitish Rana (33) overturned on review.
However, a difficult period of form continued for Bumrah's team-mate Rohit Sharma in his team's unsuccessful run chase.
The opener came into the match with scores of 6, 8, 4, 11 and 4 in his last five innings and he was not much better here, struggling to 19 from 24 before falling to the superb Varun Chakaravarthy, who posted economical figures of 2-17 from four overs. That was quite the contrast to partner Kishan, who smashed 40 from 22.
Anderson open to England coaching role after Test retirement decision
James Anderson may be calling time on his Test career in July but the England great says he would be open to a coaching role in future.
England's all-time leading wicket-taker Anderson will end his storied red-ball career after the first Test against West Indies on July 10.
Anderson's 700 wickets in 187 Tests are the most by any pace bowler in history but the 41-year-old will bow out as Brendon McCullum's England look to plan for the future.
The Lancashire bowler's farewell international appearance will come at Lord's in the first of three Tests against West Indies, though Anderson suggested a move to the backroom staff could be a possibility.
"I feel excited about what the future might hold, whether that is potentially to stick around with the team this summer in a different sort of capacity, it would be nice," Anderson told the BBC's Tailenders podcast.
Reports emerged on Friday that McCullum is planning for the long term as he looks to reshape England's bowling attack, with the announcement confirmed a day later.
England will be looking to build a team capable of claiming back the Ashes in Australia across 2025-26 and Anderson acknowledged that task may have proved too great.
"It was sort of just looking ahead and could a 43-year-old me make the Ashes in 18 months' time and we sort of came to the decision that probably not," he added.
"From my point of view, it feels like a stretch at this stage of my career and from their [England's] point of view there are 15 or so Tests before the Ashes.
"It gives them time to give other guys Test matches and experiences before that. It feels like the right thing for me and the team going forward. It feels like a good time."
Anderson says he will play for Lancashire before his Test farewell at Lord's, though plans remain unclear on his commitment to the county side after that.
"I am not 100 per cent set on what I am going to do next," he continued.
"That will be a conversation down the line and see what they [Lancashire] want to do and if I have the desire and willingness as well."
As for that final time in England whites, Anderson wants to sign off in style.
Ahead of the West Indies meeting, the England bowler is third on the all-time list of Test wicket-takers behind spinners Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka and Australia's Shane Warne.
"Nearer the time and around that Test different emotions will start rearing their head," he said. "Right now I am happy with everything.
"I am glad I get to play cricket again. I am looking forward to playing for Lancashire, playing that first Test, having fun on the field and remembering why I started playing the game.
"I would like to end it as I started it, loving bowling, showing my skills and helping the team win."
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