Much has been talked about the non-selection of Ravichandran Ashwin in any of the Test matches that India played so far in the ongoing series. Ashwin's non-selection automatically means that India and Virat Kohli have to go with Ravindra Jadeja. Despite showing enough confidence in him, the Saurashtra all-rounder has failed to impress, but Moeen Ali, the vice-captain of England still feels that Jadeja is the "Biggest Threat" to the English side on Day 5 of the Oval Test match.
“Jasprit Bumrah is one of those bowlers that can make anything happen but Jadeja is the biggest threat on that wicket. It's such a flat wicket but we're still going to have to play well," Moeen Ali told Sky Sports.
"India always fight back strongly and that's something we're going to have to be wary about,” he added.
The Jadeja-Ashwin fiasco has been making a lot of headlines, especially after Jadeja's below-average performances. Michael Vaughan, in fact, called the non-selection of Ashwin "Madness". He wrote, "The non selection of @ashwinravi99 has to be greatest NON selection we have ever witnessed across 4 Tests in the UK" on Twitter. Jadeja perhaps has one last opportunity to shut his critics and present a good defence for his selection in the playing XI.
Match Summary So Far
Moeen Ali also praised the England openers for staying unbeaten at stumps on Day 4. He said, “I thought the boys batted excellently. We knew if we get through the first 10 to 15 overs, the two guys who are in are very disciplined. They've done it before in the series when they put on an amazing partnership, so hopefully, they can do it again tomorrow."
As we head for Day 5, India needs 10 wickets to win the match, while England needs 291 more runs to seal the Test match. 90 overs lie in between them!