India dismiss Zak Crawley with last ball of the day to leave England on back foot in final Test at Oval

Crawley was deceived by a Mohammed Siraj yorker for 14, leaving England 50-1 in their chase of the 374-run target set by the visitors.

Fellow opener Ben Duckett finished the day 34 not out from 48 balls, so will hope to pick up where he left off as England seek to wrap up a 3-1 series win.

On a wicket that has proved difficult to bat on, India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal benefitted from being dropped three times to make 118 off 164 balls and register his second century of the series.

Nightwatcher Akash Deep also impressed with a maiden Test half century, scoring 66 runs before being removed when he was caught by Gus Atkinson from a Jamie Overton delivery.

The wickets of captain Shubman Gill and Karun Nair both quickly followed as England reduced their opponents to 229-5 before India rallied.

Both Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar contributed 53 runs to the cause. Washington, in particular, dazzled at The Oval, smashing anything that was remotely in his hitting window.

His was India’s final wicket, the 25-year-old’s effort coming off just 46 balls before he mistimed one and was caught by Crawley off Josh Tongue – as the tourists were all out for 396.

Tongue (5-125) was the pick of the bowlers for England, with Atkinson (3-127) and Overton (2-98) also making strong contributions.

It was in the field where the hosts let things slip, dropping six catches over the course of India’s second innings.

They were then dealt a late setback with the loss of Crawley. Surviving the new ball late in the day would have put some gloss on an otherwise disappointing day, but Crawley was undone by a corker of a delivery.

It leaves the Test finely poised, although India will resume as the favourites to win and salvage a 2-2 draw from the series.

Speaking to BBC, though, Tongue cut a confident figure, comparing the task to the one England faced when they chased a 371-run target in the first Test.

“It is a replay from Headingley. I got asked a similar question that game,” Tongue said. “It will be a great day of cricket and a great day for us if we get the runs. It is doing a bit.

“A few balls tonight jumped off a good length but if you get through the first hour, who knows.”