England faced a significant blow during late Day 1 of the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval when veteran paceman Chris Woakes was injured on the field and might not participate in the whole match. This lack diminishes England’s bowling strength by a large margin, and this is where Atkinson, Tongue, and Overton need to be left to do the dirty work. The absence of Woakes will also impact the strength of the England batting line-up, with the lower-order runs that he provides coming in handy on several occasions.
Day 1 of the match got off to a washy-wavy beginning as wet London weather was the order of the day, and only 64 overs could be bowled. There was a lot of action even though the play ended early. England bowlers bowled with a lot of regularity, taking six wickets of the Indian team and denying none of the batters the chance to transform their promising starts into a great innings.
Nevertheless, India still had 204 runs on the board, which was a decent score considering the challenging conditions. Sai Sudharsan displayed resilience as he dug in his heels to score a brisk 38 in defence, and Shubman Gill chipped in 21 before a baneful run-out. Karun Nair created a standout performance and scored a score of 50+, which is his first instance in Test cricket in nine years since the only other time he made the score was the famous 303-run test in the year 2016. There is a history of him throwing away starts, and now it is the responsibility of Karun to settle down and anchor the innings really well into the second day.
He is also joined by Washington Sundar, who is on a high after a match-saving century on Test debut, and his ability to hold down the number eight spot may be vital. India has four wickets in the bag, and the overcast conditions are likely to be difficult; the lower order will have to give it their all to take the total further. Subsequently, there will be a focus on the Indian bowlers Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, and others, as they will be instrumental in allowing India to exert pressure on England due to the use of favourable conditions on the pitch.
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