England emphatically bossed the first two hours on Friday at The Oval, threatening to run away with the final Test through Gus Atkinson first, and then openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, but when has this series followed the script?
A spectacular fightback spearheaded by Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, with Akash Deep playing the ideal foil, ensured that Shubman Gill’s side didn’t allow the game to run away from them, a genuine possibility when the two English openers were taking India to the cleaners from the beginning.
Mohammed Siraj (centre) celebrates a wicket with teammates at the Oval in London on Friday. Pic/Bipin Patel
Siraj and Prasidh finished with four wickets apiece as England were dismissed for 247 — Chris Woakes is out of the Test after dislocating his left shoulder while fielding on Thursday evening — to enjoy a small but handy lead of 23, thanks to Harry Brook’s late flourish. At the time of going to press, India were 41-0.
Diminutive left-hander Duckett and Crawley, the majestic right-hander, lopped 92 off India’s tally of 224 in just 78 deliveries with a mixture of great skills and courage, allied with no little luck, to build on the gains accrued by Atkinson crowning his return to Test cricket from injury with a fourth five-wicket haul. India added just 20 to their overnight 204 for six, the last four wickets going for only six runs once Karun Nair’s valiant half-century was snipped by Josh Tongue, who trapped him leg before.
Akash Deep
In Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, Siraj and Deep shared the new ball but after a couple seamed and swung, Duckett decided enough was enough. He forsook caution and embraced adventurism, playing several outrageous strokes including a reverse-swept six off Siraj that got the runs flowing.
Boundaries flowed in a dramatic torrent as a surface that had assisted the England quicks plenty in the morning suddenly seemed to have flattened out. India were just about wondering what might have been had Bumrah played when Duckett finally ran out of luck, caught behind trying to reverse Deep.
Ollie Pope, England’s stand-in skipper, kept up the rate of scoring with regal drives through the covers and Crawley breezed to a second successive half-century, England moving to within 95 of the Indian tally when Prasidh delivered. Tied down a little by the discipline of Deep and Prasidh, Crawley tried to pull the latter and was well caught by Ravindra Jadeja running back from mid-wicket. Energised by the departure of their two tormentors, the three Indian quicks found a second wind.
They raised their game like they invariably seem to do when Bumrah isn’t around, bowling long spells without losing intensity, pace or their threat quotient.
