On day one of the fifth and final Test against England, India finished at 204-6, with captain Shubman Gill falling victim to a run-out.
In a rain-affected opening day at The Oval, England seized the initiative in the final Test against India. The visitors, needing a win to level the series, struggled to 204-6, losing their key players early.
England’s bowlers toiled through the day for breakthroughs, celebrating the dismissals of KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shubman Gill, who had posed significant challenges in previous matches. Unfortunately for India, Gill’s dismissal came from a reckless run-out after he sought an unlikely single.
Though four days remain, India’s prospects of mounting a comeback appear increasingly bleak under the prevailing circumstances.
The overcast skies seemed to favor England’s seam-heavy bowling attack, even in the absence of their injured captain, Ben Stokes. However, their effectiveness was initially lacking.
Gus Atkinson, recalled to the team, claimed Yashasvi Jaiswal’s wicket lbw for just two runs as stand-in captain Ollie Pope finally had success with a DRS review, breaking a streak of 14 unsuccessful appeals from the previous year.
Rahul, who had tallied over 500 runs in the series so far, appeared relatively secure before misplaying a delivery from Chris Woakes for just 14 runs, leaving India at 72-2 at lunch.
In a shocking moment, Gill, who was enjoying an impressive series average exceeding 90 and had scored four centuries, lost his wicket in a bizarre run-out. He ventured for a single that was never on, allowing Atkinson enough time to dislodge the stumps with a direct hit.
Gill had ambitions of setting new records, but with just 21 additional runs, he surpassed West Indies legend Garfield Sobers (722 runs in 1966) to become the highest-scoring visiting captain and secured his place among the top nine run scorers in a series in England, either for or against the host nation.
Following a rain delay, a wayward performance from Josh Tongue saw him concede 12 runs in one over, but he soon found his rhythm, dismissing Sai Sudharsan for 38 with a well-timed edge caught by the slip.
Tongue replicated his success shortly after by trapping Jadeja, who had scored a resilient century in the previous Test, for just nine runs, leaving India staggering at 123-5 with their main threats either dismissed or unavailable, like the injured Rishabh Pant.
Dhruv Jurel, having overturned an lbw decision, fell soon after to Atkinson, caught at slip for 19 runs.
Karun Nair displayed composure, finishing the day not out at 52, while Washington Sundar, another centurion from the previous outing, was on 19 at stumps as Atkinson concluded the day with figures of 2 for 31 from 19 overs.
It was a difficult day for Chris Woakes, who sustained a concerning shoulder injury while diving to stop a boundary during the final overs.
