Indian pacers keep England in check

London: Fast bowlers continued to call the shots on a surface deliciously cooked for them as batters from both India and England found the generous green serving too hard to savour, leaving the fifth and final Test lying perfectly in the balance here on Friday.

First it was the turn of the English seamers to complete the destruction job they started so well on Thursday. Gus Atkinson bowled a sizzling spell of 2.4-1-2-3 in the morning to complete a well-deserved fifer (5/33) and with Josh Tongue (3/57) complementing him well, England shot out India, overnight 204/6, for 224 in 69.4 overs within 25 minutes on the morning at The Oval. 

Then their Indian counterparts Mohammed Siraj (3/66), Prasidh (3/51) and Akash Deep (1/80) weathered an early onslaught from openers Zak Crawley (64) and Ben Duckett (43) with an inspired show in the post-lunch session to check England’s progress. From 109/1 in 16 overs where England scored at the rate of knots, the hosts sunk to 215/7 at tea on day two, the Indian pacers rising up to the occasion despite the absence of their leader Jasprit Bumrah who was released from the squad after not being picked for the series finale.

With the wicket still holding a lot of grass and offering a generous amount of pace, bounce and swing that saw India fall apart quickly, Crawley and Duckett figured the best way to counter the challenge was to employ ‘Bazball’. The 5’7’’ left-handed Duckett often kept coming down the wicket to throw Akash and Siraj off their lines and lengths. He kept smashing them through the cover region and mixed it up with his scoop shots or reverse sweeps. 

The 6’5’’ Crawley, on the other hand, banked on his tall stand-and-deliver approach to slay the Indians. Using his giant frame to good effect, he drove, cut and pulled as runs came thick and fast. The way both Crawley and Duckett were bashing the ball, it looked like The Hundred, scheduled to start on August 5, had come in early. Crawley and Duckett, well aware even batters with the best of defence could be found wanting on a surface where the ball kept doing something, operated with the foot firmly on the pedal as Indian bowlers struggled to rein them in.

Akash then gave India an opening when he dismissed Duckett just before lunch, the southpaw’s attempted reverse sweep going awfully wrong. Akash gave Duckett a verbal sendoff before putting his arms over the shoulders of the batter in an attempt to cool things off instantly.

Duckett’s wicket gave the Indians the boost they were desperately looking for and they came charging off the blocks in the second session.

Having bowled a tad too short earlier, they landed the balls a lot fuller and kept it in and around the off-stump. They relied on discipline, choked the run flow and England struggled to force the pace. Crawley attempted to change the tide by hooking Prasidh but ended up getting caught by Ravindra Jadeja.

Then the lion-hearted Siraj swung the momentum India’s way with a cracking spell. Like in Birmingham, where he led the attack beautifully in Bumrah’s absence, the Hyderabadi trapped skipper Ollie Pope, Joe Root, and Jacob Bethell leg before wicket in quick succession to leave England struggling at 215/6. Siraj bowled with passion and fire, and the cricketing gods showed him mercy this time by rewarding him with good returns in the wickets column.

Bowling, like batting, is all about partnerships, and Prasidh backed up Siraj’s effort with an equally impressive performance.

SCOREBOARD

INDIA (I Innings O/n: 204/6): 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 lbw 57 (109b 8x4) Jadeja c Smith b Tongue  9 (13b 1x4) Jurel c Brook b Atkinson  19 (40b 2x4) Sundar c Overton b Atkinson  26 (55b 3x4) Akash (not out)  0 (7b) Siraj b Atkinson  0 (4b) Prasidh c Smith b Atkinson  0 (2b) Extras (B-12 LB-6 NB-4 W-16)  38 TOTAL (all out 69.4 overs) 224  Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Jaiswal) 2-38 (Rahul) 3-83 (Gill) 4-101 (Sudharsan) 5-123 (Jadeja) 6-153 (Jurel) 7-218 (Nair) 8-220 (Sundar) 9-224 (Siraj).

Bowling: Woakes 14-1-46-1 Atkinson 21.4-8-33-5 (w-1 nb-4) Tongue 16-4-57-3 (w-4) Overton 16-0-66-0 (w-2) Bethell 2-1-4-0.

ENGLAND (I Innings): Crawley c Jadeja b Prasidh  64 (57b 14x4) Duckett c Jurel b Akash  43 (38b 5x4 2x6) Pope lbw Siraj  22 (44b 4x4) Root lbw Siraj  29 (45b 6x4) Brook (batting)  33 (36b 5x4) Bethell lbw Siraj  6 (14b 1x4) Smith c Rahul b Prasidh  8 (22b 1x4) Overton lbw Prasidh  0 (4b) Atkinson c Akash b Prasidh  11 (16b 2x4) Extras (B-5 LB-2 NB-3) 10  TOTAL (for 7 wkts 42.5 overs)  215 Fall of wickets: 1-92 (Duckett) 2-129 (Crawley) 3-142 (Pope)  4-175 (Root) 5-195 (Bethell) 6-215 (Smith) 7-215 (Overton).

Bowling: Siraj 12-1-66-3 Akash 17-0-80-1 (nb-1) Prasidh 11.5-0-51-3 (nb-2) Jadeja 2-0-11-0.