IND vs ENG, 5th Test Match, Day 2: Oval Drama Deepens as India Eyes 300+

Published on the cusp of play, #PreMatchMemo sets the scene before each Test — spotlighting arcs, angles, and all that’s in play before the first ball is bowled.

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A WHOLE 54 DAYS after the tour began, India got its first taste of English conditions at The Oval on Day 1 of the fifth Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test. There were clouds, there was grass on the pitch, there was rain, there were low temperatures, and there was a bit of bounce and swing. Jasprit Bumrah, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse will have been ruing the fact that they had to bowl on airplane runways (relatively speaking) in arid and almost desert-like conditions (again, relatively speaking) in the preceding Tests, and missed out this time around.

As it turned out, Ollie Pope took the reins for England and consigned opposite number Shubman Gill to his fifth coin toss loss of the series. This dubious distinction, incidentally, earned the latter a place alongside Lala Amarnath, Kapil Dev and Virat Kohli as only the fourth Indian captain to lose all five tosses in a Test series.

This, meanwhile, was Pope’s first coin toss win as Test captain. And in the fourth over, it truly began looking like it was going to be his day. In his previous four Tests as skipper, the England No 3 has had a torrid time with DRS reviews, failing to land any of the 14 sought hitherto. Undeterred, he reviewed Gus Atkinson’s LBW appeal against Yashasvi Jaiswal that had been turned down. And wouldn’t you just know it, the television umpire overruled his on-field counterpart. India was 10/1, Pope had broken his DRS duck and England was at the races.

A special word for Josh Tongue whose bowling was the very textbook definition of ‘unpredictable’. When he wasn’t sending wicketkeeper Jamie Smith flying across the turf in vain to retrieve a leg-side wide, he was keeping the slips alert by aiming projectiles their way. And just as you were finishing shaking your head at the last calamitous ball, he’d hurl down an absolute beauty — the sort that will probably become the mainstay of several video packages. This bizarre formula accounted for the wickets of Sai Sudharsan and Ravindra Jadeja.

Gill began the day a mere 89 runs shy of Sir Donald Bradman’s record for most runs scored in a Test series. And for just over 30 balls, he looked confident, assured and set to surpass the Don… and then some. Unfortunately for him, he failed to take into account the slippery nature of the pitch and found himself unable to return in time after setting off for an ill-advised single. Even more unfortunate for him was the fact that bowler Gus Atkinson was on target with a direct run out.

At stumps, with India at 203/6, both teams likely took away a fair bit of satisfaction from proceedings, although it’s tough to tell who was happier. England will be satisfied at removing the top six Indian batters, but will know the job is only half done, with Karun Nair, Washington Sundar and the tail yet to be dislodged. India will be optimistic about crossing 300 runs in the first essay, but will certainly be wary of England making short work of that total.

THE DAY AHEAD 

Onto the second day and first up under the scanner will be Nair. After flattering to deceive in the first three Tests (with scores of 0, 20, 31, 26, 40 and 14), the 33-year-old finally crossed the 50 mark and looked like very good value for his runs. At the end of a disappointing series (for him personally), a big score would be the perfect way to remain in the collective mind of the selection committee ahead of home series against the Windies and South Africa. While the younger Sundar has acquitted himself quite well in the series so far and will likely have more opportunities than Nair, he too will be keen to cement his place in the Test team ahead of the home series. A good knock here should be the ideal way to underscore his claims to a berth.

For the hosts, the most pressing concern overnight was the state of Chris Woakes’ shoulder. The bowling spearhead, who happens to be quite handy with the bat, took a nasty fall towards the end of Thursday’s play and seemed to land awkwardly on his shoulder. Now that he’s been officially ruled out of the final Test, it’s going to be down to Tongue, Atkinson and Jamie Overton (and possibly Jacob Bethall) to take the remaining 14 Indian wickets in this match.

Speaking of the England bowlers, the other key issue that’ll need resolving is their wayward lines. A total of 30 extras have already been conceded and the frequent disappearance of the ball miles down the legside would’ve made for uncomfortable viewing for bowling coach Tim Southee. Considering how effective they can be when they actually stick to lines and lengths (see: Tongue), it would be quite unprecedented for the bowlers not to have learned from their errors and to learn from them on Friday.

In the (fairly expected) event that India does bowl on Friday, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna will be the duo to watch. Their respective abilities to swing the ball, coupled with the natural pace they generate will provide the English batters with a stern challenge. And should they be able to scythe through the batting, the pressure could well and truly be on the hosts by this time tomorrow.

Finally, a word on the rain. More specifically, a fervent plea for it to stay away. For the most part and despite the downpours and soggy outfield, the cricket on Day 1 of the Oval Test was of a good quality — probing, attritional, played at a high intensity and entertaining. Provided the rain holds off long enough, we should have a fitting end to an intriguing series on our hands.

Karan Pradhan is editor-in-chief of Story Mode, a gaming and gaming-adjacent magazine. Follow him on X/Twitter @karanpradhan_

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