Follow UsEngland needed only 35 more runs to win and India needed just four wickets with the tailenders at the crease in the fifth and final Test of the five-match series at the Oval on August 3 (Sunday). However, the match officials decided that no play was possible after a rain interruption in the evening session on Day 4.
The commentators of the game, though, felt that the match officials needed to provide an extra half an hour to make sure that the game reached its completion on Sunday itself, instead of pushing on to a working Monday.
“Most importantly, for viewers and fans who paid good money, remember Monday is a workday, and this sort of series deserves a finale in front of a big crowd at an iconic cricket ground, the Oval,” Indian Express quoted Nasser Hussain as saying on Sky Sports.'
“That would have been some finale on Sunday. You may have just knocked off 35, or you may have seen Chris Woakes walk downstairs in a sling. I’m just wondering if they could have done anything, they had like 42–43 minutes to play with and within the laws and the playing regulations,” added the former England captain.
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik echoed Hussain’s sentiments as well. He said, “I agree the rules are the rules, but I kind of like what Nasser said, that the half-hour extension that you get, even if it meant it needed to start at 6.45, could have gone either way. The crowd would have got to see the result.”
But as it stands, the match is headed to Day 5, and India would look to go with all their might and try and get at least one wicket with the old ball and chip away with the rest with the new ball, which is just three overs away. England, on the other hand, would look to make use of the new ball and score quickly to get to those 35 runs and clinch the series 3-1.