Updated on: Aug 03, 2025 07:35 pm IST
Shubman Gill urged injured Akash Deep to bowl again, asking ‘Injection liya kya?’ as Sundar’s brief spin spell failed vs dominant England.
India captain Shubman Gill was left desperate on the fourth afternoon at The Oval as England resumed their innings in dominant fashion, with Harry Brook and Joe Root showing no mercy to the Indian attack. In a bid to maintain pressure, Gill urged injured pacer Akash Deep to get ready to bowl, despite the blow he had suffered just before lunch.
In the penultimate over of the morning session on Day 4 of the fifth Test in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, Brook drove a delivery straight back at Akash, striking him on the shin. The bowler collapsed in pain and was helped up by teammates before resuming his over, albeit in visible discomfort.
Post-lunch, Gill continued with a pace-heavy approach as Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj operated in tandem. Washington Sundar was then introduced for a brief spin spell, but the experiment fizzled out quickly. Looking to revert to pace, Gill called out to Akash after Sundar’s second over.
The stump mic picked up Gill shouting, “Injection liya kya tum?” – asking if Akash had taken a painkiller shot and was ready to bowl. He repeated the question, signaling urgency.
Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar, on commentary, remarked, “It shows Gill wants to go back to pace again after lunch.”
Resuming their final innings on 50 for one under overcast London skies, Ben Duckett scored a fluent fifty before falling to Prasidh Krishna. Mohammed Siraj struck shortly after to remove captain Ollie Pope, but Root and Brook carried England to 164-3 at lunch.
In the second session, both struck their respective fifties as England crossed the 250-run mark, implying they needed just 125 runs more to reach the huge victory target of 374, which would give them a 3-1 series win.
England are currently chasing history at The Oval. No side has made more to win in the fourth innings of a Test at the venue than England’s 263 in a one-wicket victory over Australia in 1902.
