England lost four wickets for just six runs in a disastrous collapse just after lunch as rampant India closed in on fourth Test victory and a 2-1 series lead.
Having started the afternoon session on 131 for two, England’s Haseeb Hameed, Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali fell like dominoes in a nightmare half-hour for Joe Root’s side.
Ravindra Jadeja bowled opener Hameed for 63 before Pope was cleaned up by Jasprit Bumrah having only added a couple to the tally.
Jasprit Bumrah is mobbed by his India team-mates after taking the wicket of Jonny Bairstow
Bairstow was bowled for a duck as England lost a flurry of wickets straight after lunch
Ravindra Jadeja celebrates after taking Moeen Ali’s wicket as England collapsed miserably
Moeen reflected England’s shell-shocked mood as they slumped badly after lunch
As India captain Virat Kohli whipped up his countrymen in the Oval crowd, Bumrah brilliantly bowled Bairstow for a duck before Jadeja struck again to remove Moeen without score.
It left Root yet again carrying an increasingly heavy burden of responsibility as the chances of England saving the match and parity in the best-of-five series faded fast.
This latest risible England batting collapse came after a pretty positive morning in which they lost just two wickets.
Those two wickets in the morning session killed off any lingering hopes of knocking off the 368 required for victory but there was still every chance of a battling draw until the afternoon session began.
Dawid Malan looks crestfallen after being run out as India claimed their second wicket
Malan, on five, was short of his mark as substitute fielder Mayank Agarwal ran him out
That would have been the highest victory chase in England’s Test history and openers Burns and Hameed soon converted their overnight stand of 77 into an evenly-split century.
Burns scored 19 of the 23 runs despite seeing less of the strike as the pair seemed to take contrasting approaches to the task at hand early on.
He collected three boundaries but departed as soon as he finished celebrating his half-century. Shardul Thakur coaxed the feather edge through to Rishabh Pant in the 41st over and India’s players came alive with joy.
Rory Burns walks off after being dismissed for 50 on the final day of the fourth Test at The Oval
There was delight for Shardul Thakur as India claimed the breakthrough by getting Burns out
The England opener was dismissed just one ball after bringing up his half-century
Fellow opener Haseeb Hameed soaks up the applause of the crowd after his fifty comes up
Hameed, on 56, received a real let-off when Mohammad Siraj dropped a dolly at mid-on
Malan took nine balls to get off the mark and seemed uncertain whether to kick things on or block. But it was Hameed who received a let-off.
He hacked at Ravindra Jadeja with an ill-advised shot, mis-timed and looped a simple catch to mid-on, where Siraj somehow spilled the simplest of chances.
The pressure quickly built on Malan and he came close to falling LBW when kicking Jadeja out of the rough.
When Hameed called his partner through for a quick single, Malan was slow to react and sub fielder Mayank Agarwal was alert in the covers to find Pant, who whipped the bails off with Malan, diving full length, just short.
Malan is left bent double after taking a ball to the body during his innings of five
India appeal vociferously for LBW against Malan during the batsman’s short innings
But any English optimism about seeing the day out to a draw was shattered after lunch as the wickets tumbled.
Jadeja ended Hameed’s vigil as the opener started to run low on ideas, scoring just 20 from 108 on day five. Pitching a ball in the footmarks outside leg-stump, the delivery went across Hameed’s forward defensive shot and struck the top of off stump.
Pope top scored for England with 81 in the first innings but the Surrey man found no home comforts second time around, lasting 11 balls and scoring just two before Bumrah sent his stumps sprawling.
India scented blood and Bairstow went for a four-ball duck as Bumrah, tail up, smashed the base of the stumps with a speedy yorker.
The rot had set in and Moeen also went without scoring to make it 147 for six.
India captain Virat Kohli assembles his players to discuss whether to review a decision
Dawid Malan races to make his ground and avoid being run out during the morning session
At the other end, Haseeb Hameed was blocked off as he tried to scramble for a single
England’s openers Burns and Hameed walk out past the India team under blue skies on day five
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