India vs England: Karun Nair holds fort for visitors on a rain truncated day

London: England bowlers finally got what they’d been praying for in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy — a green top — but the makeshift attack couldn’t made the utmost use of the gift as India fought hard on a rain-marred opening day of the fifth Test here on Thursday.

Since the advent of the ‘Bazball’ era when Brendon McCullum took charge of a beleaguered England side in May 2022, the character of the English pitches has undergone a dramatic change. A combination of McCullum’s strategy to play ultra-aggressive cricket and the brutal English summer that has complicated the jobs of the curator, pitches in England have now become flat with barely any bounce and carry — turning almost sub-continental. That’s what the four previous Tests witnessed where batters from both sides made merry.

The Oval here, home of Surrey, though, has been remarkably different with the County side preferring to play on seaming pitches. Head groundskeeper Lee Fortis, who had an altercation with India head coach Gautam Ganbhir on Tuesday, dished out exactly what he’s been known for over the last two years — a pitch with lots of live green grass with pace, bounce and carry. To the naked eye, there was barely any difference between the pitch and the lush green outfield! Add the intermittent rain and the nip in the air, and it was a godsend for the bowlers.

So when India skipper Shubman Gill lost a fifth toss in succession, his English counterpart Ollie Pope had no hesitation in asking the visitors to take the first strike. It was going to be by far the biggest challenge for the in-form Indian batters despite England fielding a second-string attack, and they fumbled a bit to be reduced to 204/6 at stumps on day one. Karun Nair, returning to the side, shone with a gritty unbeaten 52.

England got off to the perfect start, thanks to a superb referral from Pope, when Gus Atkinson trapped Yashasvi Jaiswal leg-before in the fourth over of the day. Thereafter, England bowlers actually struggled to make the utmost use of the helpful conditions. The experienced Chris Woakes, playing his fifth game of the series, and Gus Atkinson (2/31) were able to maintain the pressure, but Josh Tongue (2/47) and Jamie Overton struggled to bowl disciplined lines and lengths. In trying to get the ball to swing, they bowled a lot of loose deliveries, some way down the leg side. Such was the struggle for control that they bowled 16 wides by the end of the day.

So KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan knew they didn’t face much threat and went about the rebuilding job quite nicely before a loose shot from the former brought about his dismissal. Skipper Gill then joined forces with his Gujarat Titans’ teammate Sudharsan, and the duo too motored along smoothly as England continued to alternate between brilliant and the ordinary. Sai and Gill even upped the run-rate before a sudden thunderstorm about eight minutes before lunch stalled play for a while for the first time.

A moment of harakiri from Gill, who was trying to overtake Sunil Gavaskar’s (774) record for most runs in a Test series, then led to a slide. After dabbing the ball to short cover, he called for a non-existent single when Sudharshan rightfully sent him back. Gill had already raced off the blocks and slipped slightly while trying to turn back. Atkinson charged ahead on his follow-through and rattled the stumps, running out Gill for 21. The skipper, on 743 runs for the series, walked back disappointed.

However, the under-fire Nair and last match’s hero Washington Sundar ensured the mood was not sombre for the Indians with a doughty unbroken 51-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Nair yet again looked good but this time he turned it into a half-century — the first of his career. He’ll be hoping to convert it into a big one on Friday and bail India out.

SCOREBOARD

INDIA (I Innings):

Jaiswal lbw Atkinson 2

(9b)

Rahul b Woakes 14

(40b, 1x4)

Sudharsan Smith b Tongue 38

(108b, 6x4)

Gill (run out) 21

(35b, 4x4)

Nair (batting) 52

(98b, 7x4)

Jadeja c Smith b Tongue 9

(13b, 1x4)

Jurel c Brook b Atkinson 19

(40b, 2x4)

Sundar (batting) 19

(45b, 2x4)

Extras (B-4, LB-6, NB-4, W-16) 30

TOTAL (for 6 wkts, 64 overs) 204

Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Jaiswal), 2-38 (Rahul), 3-83 (Gill), 4-101 (Sudharsan), 5-123 (Jadeja), 6-153 (Jurel).

Bowling: Woakes 14-1-46-1, Atkinson 19-7-31-2 (w-1, nb-4), Tongue 13-3-47-2 (w-4), Overton 16-0-66-0 (w-2), Bethell 2-1-4-0.