3 Key Strategies India Must Execute on Day 4 of ENG vs IND 5th Test 2025, Featuring Ravindra Jadeja’s Bowling Impact

The fifth Test between India and England has reached its final innings at The Oval in London. Most likely, Day 4 of the Test on Sunday, August 3, will be the last day of cricket in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. India pacer Mohammed Siraj took a wicket on the final ball of Day 3, dismissing England opener Zak Crawley. England finished Day 3 on 50/1 after 13.5 overs, chasing a target of 374, setting up an exciting Day 4.

Earlier, India scored 396 in their second innings, with Yashasvi Jaiswal making 118 and half-centuries from night watchman Akash Deep and all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. Shubman Gill-led India need to win this Test to level the series and keep the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. On that note, here are three important things India must do on Day 4 of the fifth England vs India Test.

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1. India must put pressure at key moments

No team has chased more than 263 runs at The Oval in the fourth innings, a record England set over 100 years ago in their one-wicket win over Australia. To beat that by 111 runs, England will need not only Bazball’s aggressive style but also almost perfect execution.

England’s top two successful chases in history — 378 against India in 2022 at Edgbaston and 371 against India earlier in this series at Leeds — came on flatter pitches. But The Oval’s variable bounce and wearing surface will make things much harder this time.

For India, knowing when to attack and when to defend will be key. The Dukes ball has behaved strangely in this series, swinging and seaming more towards the end of the first session and the start of the second. The roller may help at the start of play, so India might begin a bit defensively. But in the second and third hours, the fast bowlers should try pitching the ball up to find any movement in the air. If India can put pressure at the right moments, especially late in the first session, they will have a strong chance of winning on Day 4.

Stumps on Day 3 at the Oval 🏟️

A fantastic day with the bat for #TeamIndia 🙌

England 50/1 in the 2nd innings

India need 9⃣ wickets to win the fifth and final Test!

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/Tc2xpWNayE#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/fILzecV2jy

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 2, 2025

2. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar can be trusted with the ball

India’s three pacers will have to give their best one last time in the series, but captain Shubman Gill will need to keep them fresh. To give the pacers short breaks, Jadeja and Sundar can be relied on to keep the runs down. The spinners have bowled very well whenever they have been used.

Jadeja and Sundar might even get some help from the pitch. On Day 3, Jacob Bethell got one ball to turn sharply past the outside edge in the first over, and both Indian spinners put a lot of spin on the ball. Sundar has also been effective even without much help from the surface, with his drift troubling England’s right-handers.

3. India Needs to Continue Using In-Out Fields

In the final hour of play on Day 3, Gill and the team made a smart move. They placed a sweeper on the boundary for Zak Crawley while keeping close-in catchers. This in-out field worked well.

England are known to attack the bowling, especially in fourth-innings chases. By cutting off boundaries, India can break their rhythm while still being ready to take catching chances. On Day 4, India should use the same plan. Players like Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, and Jamie Smith will try to score quickly, especially if batting conditions are tough. It took India five Tests, but they finally seem to have found the right approach.