India have conceded a first innings lead in the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval in London after folding for a total of 224 runs. England raced to the visitors’ total on Friday thanks to a blistering opening partnership of 92 runs in 78 balls between Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett.
However, this may not be a bad thing after all for Shubman Gill & Co given, India have trailed in the first innings on both occasions in the past when they registered victories at the same venue.
The first instance was in 1971, when England made 355 in their first innings, with valuable contributions from Alan Knott (90), John Jameson (82) and Richard Hutton (81). In response, India were bowled out for 284, conceding a lead of 71 runs. Farokh Engineer (59) and Dilip Sardesai (54) made half-centuries for India. Bhagwath Chandrasekhar’s (6-38) six-wicket haul brought India back into the match as England were restricted to just 101. India chased the 173-run target with four wickets to spare.
Then, in 2021, India batted were bundled out for 191. Shardul Thakur (57) and Virat Kohli (50) were the top scorers. In response, England made 290 and took a 99-run lead. India, however, amassed 466 in their second effort thanks to Rohit Sharma’s 127, Cheteshwar Pujara’s 61, Shardul Thakur’s 60 and Rishabh Pant’s 50. Chasing 368 for victory, England could only manage 210.
