Updated 4 August 2025 at 10:04 IST
Chris Woakes to Come Out to Bat Despite Injury if Required? Joe Root Makes Huge Comment
India vs England: Looks like if needed Chris Woakes will come out to bat on the final day at Oval.
India vs England: With the game on thin ice, all the speculation is around - will injured Chris Woakes come out to bat on the final day of the Oval Test if required. After the fourth day's play at the Oval, Joe Root nearly confirmed that Woakes would be there if needed. He said this while citing the example of Rishabh Pant, who had walked out to bat with a fractured toe in the Manchester game.
‘Put bodies on the line’
“You probably saw him in his whites in the dressing room. So he's all-in like the rest of us. It's been that kind of series where guys have had to put bodies on the line,” said Root during the presser citing examples of Pant and Ben Stokes.
“Clearly, he's in a huge amount of pain having done what he's done. It just shows, as we've seen from other guys in this series, Rishabh Pant batting with a broken foot, guys taking all sorts of blows here and there, but it means a huge amount to him,” he added.
England need 35 to win and have four wickets in hand. India would believe it is not four, but three wickets - but with so much uncertainty around Woakes currently, it is hard to understand.
Oval Cracker on Knife's Edge
It would be a fitting end to the emphatic series, if Woakes comes out to bat. It has been a series where India looked the better team for the most part of it, the scoreline may not suggest that.
The Shubman Gill-led side surely deserve to win the game and level the series. In fact, you cannot count out the possibility of a tie as well.
Published By : Ankit Banerjee
Published On: 4 August 2025 at 09:59 IST