England collapse as India eye victory

LONDON: India were on the brink of just their second Test win at Lord´s as Alastair Cook´s latest failure with the bat prolonged the debate about his future as England captain.

England were 105 for four at stumps on Sunday´s fourth day, needing a further 214 runs to reach their victory target of 319. But the odds were on India going 1-0 up in this five-match series, after last week´s draw at Trent Bridge, and recording only their second victory in 17 Tests at Lord´s following a lone win back in 1986.

Joe Root was 14 not out and Moeen Ali 15 not out at the close, the pair having come together after England lost three wickets for two runs in collapsing to 72 for four.

Left-handed opener Cook fell for just 22 to make it 27 innings since he had scored the last of his England record 25 hundreds. His exit came shortly after Ian Bell, the other experienced batsman in England´s top order, had been dismissed for one -- his 19th innings without a Test century.

England assistant coach Paul Farbrace did his best to make light of a difficult situation by telling Sky Sports: "We´ve got a bit to do tomorrow (Monday), but we´ve got two guys in who love a scrap. The captain (Cook) is fine, he´s in there chatting to the lads who are not out. The form of the senior players isn´t a concern."

Fast-medium bowler Ishant Sharma removed both Bell and Cook in a burst of two wickets for no runs in seven balls. (AFP)