Dark grey skies, a green top, some steady spells of rain and a battle between bat and ball—for the first time in five weeks, both the weather and the cricket felt English.
In the series-deciding final Test at The Oval, India was inserted in after it lost its fifth toss in the series—15th consecutive in men’s international cricket.
Making the most of the conditions, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson claimed two wickets apiece before Karun Nair’s unbeaten 52 (98b, 7×4) guided India to 204 for six on Thursday.
IND vs ENG Highlights, 5th Test Day 1
Karun was among the four changes that India made, and the decision to play him at No. 5 paid off as he built effective partnerships with Dhruv Jurel and Washington Sundar after the visitor lost three wickets in the post-Tea session.
Playing every ball on its merit, Karun dealt with singles while occasionally hitting a few boundaries to put the pressure back on the England bowling unit, which suffered a blow in the fag end as Chris Woakes hurt his left shoulder while fielding.
While Karun dominated the final session, it was B. Sai Sudharsan who guided India out of the woods after it was precariously placed at 38 for two—having lost openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul.
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At No. 3, Sudharsan dug in along with captain Shubman Gill as India crawled back before rain forced an early lunch.
Coming on the back of two contrasting innings in the previous outing in Manchester, where he scored a fifty, followed by a duck, Sudharsan exhibited a good technique against the moving ball.
He remained composed before sending a few over-pitched deliveries for fours through the slip cordon. Gill, on the other hand, approached his innings aggressively as he hit three boundaries in the first session, as they added 45 runs for the fourth wicket. On the way, the Indian captain surpassed West Indies great Garry Sobers to register the record for most runs by a visiting skipper in a Test series in England.
However, in the six overs that could be played in the post-lunch session, before rain interrupted play again, India lost the momentum as Gill was run out for his first score of over 20 and under 100 since reaching England. It was an unnecessary call, which hurt India.
Though Sudharsan looked set, Tongue found the breakthrough as the former was caught behind, and in no time, the fast bowler removed Ravindra Jadeja as well. However, Jurel showed intent before playing a loose shot outside the off stump off Atkinson and was caught at second slip.
Earlier in the day, a rusty Jaiswal lasted for just nine deliveries before he was trapped in front by Atkinson, who was bowling from around the wicket.
Atkinson, who returned to the side after two months, was certain about the dismissal, though the on-field decision was not out. As stand-in captain Ollie Pope reviewed, the decision went in England’s favour.
An edgy Woakes eventually castled Rahul with a hard-length ball that jagged back in and did not offer any room to cut.
However, with Karun holding fort, India ended the day in a comfortable position.
