IND vs ENG: Yashasvi Jaiswal powers India to 52-run lead with half century on Day 2
Jaiswal was first by dropped by Harry Brook in second slip when on 20 runs, and then by Liam Dawson at deep fine leg when on 40. Jaiswal made those two chances count by staying unbeaten at the end of day 2 after an innings that saw him get to his half century off just 44 balls. At the end of the second day, Jaiswal had hit seven boundaries and two sixes.
Sai Sudharsan too was dropped once on seven runs, but unlike Jaiswal, he could not make the most of it, departing for 11.
The fate of the India vs England series rests on the ongoing fifth and final Test with England currently leading the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy by a 2-1 margin.
Earlier in the day, England were bundled out for 247, a slender first innings lead of 23 runs. India captain Shubman Gill bowled his three pacers — Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna — for 49.2 of the 51.2 overs with Ravindra Jadeja bowling just for two overs. All top 5 England batters got starts, but it was the batting of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, who smashed 92 from 77 deliveries, that made the day entertaining.
Siraj and Krishna picked up four wickets each, with Krishna ending with his best Test bowling figures for the national team, 4/62. Of those four was the wicket of England's top scorer Zak Crawley (64). But it was Siraj's four wickets that were game-changing for India: he picked up the scalps of stand-in captain Ollie Pope (22), Joe Root (29), Harry Brook (53) and Jacob Bethell (6).
Siraj also became the leading wicket-taker for the series with 18 wickets. The next two bowlers in the race — Ben Stokes with 17 and Jasprit Bumrah with 14 — are not playing in this game. Josh Tongue is also on 14 wickets.
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Indian Express
5 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Mohammed Siraj-inspired India refuse to die, Oval Test, series heading for thriller Day 5
Just as they have done all series, India refused to fade out even after Joe Root and Harry Brook had seemingly extinguished the lights with hundreds. Neither did the Indian section in the crowd. With less than 40 runs needed, they first found their voice, hollering away and that relentless warrior Mohammad Siraj conjured a series of magical deliveries to inspire his team-mate Prasidh Krishna, who took out Root with 37 runs still needed. The runs dried up, ball kept beating the bat or pinging the pad, Indians kept appealing, and blood it seemed was draining off England's lower order. Then light literally gave away as the sun went out of The Oval with England still needing 35 runs. India, England, and this astonishing series remains alive for one another day in paradise. And to think that the Indian fight had seemingly evaporated out of the arena when on 94, Brook drove a Washington Sundar ball to wide long-off. Akash Deep dragged his tired legs to the ball, too knackered to bend down, he would put out his foot to stop the ball. He would fail, the ball would roll over the fence. Two balls later, Brook would get his 100 and the Oval would bring the roof down. On the boundary rope, a sullen Akash Deep would massage his aching arms not far from where Siraj would have clasp his head with his hands. This seemed to be the moment that broke India's back, but clearly this lot is made of sterner stuff. England still needed 80 odd runs to win the Test and the series and things were almost on autopilot. While Brook would be celebrated for his 111 but he wasn't able to take England home. He charged out to Prasidh after hitting two fours in that over to have an almighty swing and his bat flew out of his hand even as the ball settled into Siraj's hands at cover. Little did one know that the moment of indiscretion was to leave a mark in the game and the series. However, Root, fresh on the podium of the all-time Test run-getters, showed the nuance and art of scoring big and winning matches. In this series of 20-something heroes, on the final day of the grueling contest was desperate to show that he was the difference between the two sides. And he nearly was until he fell, edging a straightener outside off from Prasidh to a diving Jurel, and leaving England still 37 runs short. This has been a theme to this draining and engrossing series. There would be those long stretched phases of intense battle, those very close 'who blinks first' situations. This is followed by a one 'slip up' that suddenly deflates the match. In this case, it was Brook's implosion and Root's dalliance with danger. At Manchester, England dropped Ravindra Jadeja on the first ball and he foiled India's victory bid. This too had the famous Ben Stokes 'give up'. At Oval, India too got a chance when Harry Brook was dropped on 19 by Siraj on the fence as he stepped over the line to his utter agony. Returning after a short break in the dressing room, Siraj took his fielding position on the fine leg, guarding the fence since Brook was trying to break the shackles. Barely settled, standing way off the central square, the spotlight was suddenly on him. Brook had pulled Prasidh and the looping ball seemed to be landing on Siraj. The pacer caught the ball comfortably but his right leg inadvertently touched the boundary cushion behind him. The score could have gone from 137/3 to 137/4 but now it was 143/3. England had survived. All series Siraj has been running in like a tireless warrior, conjuring some magic from unresponsive Dukes balls but was left to rue that one betrayal of his feet. Just like Shane Warne in the epic 2005 series-deciding final Test at the same venue had dropped Kevin Pietersen on 15 and saw him churn a match-winning 158. Such is life. This morning it was said that Ben Duckett vs Siraj was to be the face-off that would decide this game. After the highest wicket-taker of the series had got Zak Crawley with the final ball of the day, he was tipped to get his batting partner too. The duel lived up to its billing and produced one of the many riveting bat-ball contests of this series. Siraj would bowl from over-the-wicket to the left-handed Duckett and try to get his outside edge. He had the perfect ball for him – the wobbly-scrambled seam ball that went away after pitching. In one over, Siraj would beat Duckett's outside edge 5 times. Just when you thought India was winning the contest, the England opener would strike back. In the next over, Siraj would try his swinging full ball with fingers behind the seam in a conventional position but it was a bit short and Duckett would drive for a boundary. There was one more four and the score had been settled. In the third over, Siraj had the England opener playing and missing again. Prasidh, the first change bowler, would benefit from the pressure created by Siraj and he got Duckett caught in the slip, edging a full angler while driving the ball. Ollie Pope's cameo wasn't quite a captain's knock and the now it was upto to the former and future captains – Root and Brook – to take them home. Perfect for the job was Brook. He had to take chances and thus be lucky. And that's when Siraj's drop came and Brook and Root would make it count. The heir-apparent of England cricket would keep swinging the bat to hit big hits. Root would do the same but his strokes were more refined. Their first small victory came when the Indian captain had to rest his three pacers. But whatever he threw at Brook and Root, they had an answer. Shubman had a brief dalliance with spin but didn't quite work. With the ball close to 50 overs old, what would Shubman do next? He tried his other pet tactic – asking wicket-keeper Jurel to stand up to Akash Deep. The off-side boundary would be left vacant and at 30-yards from the point to extra cover there would be a sprinkling of catcher. Against the well-set batsmen this too didn't work. It was left to that man Siraj again to incredibly find some energy in himself and inject it to his team-mates. Egged on by the fans, when Jacob Bethell fell, trying to slog Prasidh, Siraj suddenly started to threaten the pads of Root with his curling nipbackers from a old, soft ball. Couple of lbw shouts turned up, Prasidh too started to produce the odd threatening delivery and just as Root, the fourth-innings chase hero of England, was soaking up the pressure, he fell and the game hung on a knife's edge. Who will blink first on Monday? Will Chris Woakes have to come out with a dislocated shoulder and bat one-handed? Will Siraj and co. produce one final drama in this soap opera of a Test series?
Indian Express
5 minutes ago
- Indian Express
IND vs ENG: Mohammed Siraj may be overshadowed by Jasprit Bumrah's singular genius, but in England he proved value of relentlessness
The images that define Mohammed Siraj so far in this Test series have been tragic. The ball spinning off a stout defensive block and dribbling to knock the stumps in Lord's. The heel nudging the ropes as he completed the catch of Harry Brook at the Oval. The anguished face when fielders kept shelling catches at Leeds. There are those of rage and anger. The scowl at Ben Duckett in Lord's. The sighs and oohs. The redeeming frame would be the worldie that consumed Jacob Bethell. A more defining, and happier, one might await him on Monday. But irrespective of the outcome, it was the series when he became the talisman of a weary, wounded and callow Indian bowling band. When he took the unenviable responsibility of spearheading a bowling firm of threadbare experience, when he filled the void of Jasprit Bumrah in the games he missed and those that the talisman was not his lethal self. When he bowled more than any other bowler in the series and took more wickets than any other (21), when he waged lone futile battles, when he kept India in the game, twice in this game alone, and when he shed every drop of sweat and energy into the series. Like late on Sunday evening, under sombre skies he bowled eight overs on the trot to keep the pressure on England. Back-to-back fours by Joe Root roused him in the 66th over. In the next 37 balls of heat and fury, he conceded only five runs, all nervy singles. He wobble-seamed the ball inwardly to the right-hander and swung the ball; or held the line using an upright seam position, orbited towards the batsmen by the dexterous wrists of his. His whooping nip-backers first induced doubts in Root and Bethell when everything seemed smooth-sailing. His accomplice Prasidh Krishna reaped the benefits. It is such a tragic flaw that his labours often go unnoticed. His fate is akin to generations of batsmen in the Sachin Tendulkar era. Like a brigade of them whose contributions the great batsman overshadowed, Siraj's shine had been lost in the radiance of Bumrah. He is no Bumrah, a down-and-outest outlier, but it is his plight to be constantly compared to Bumrah. From speed to deviation, wits to craft, the benchmark is the exorbitantly gifted Bumrah, even though Siraj is a diamond by himself. Intelligent and witty, with a heart of granite and the body of a thoroughbred. He promises one vital dimension that Bumrah cannot guarantee: availability. The modest sedan is often more useful than the Rolls Royce in the garage, better mileage and easy navigation. Siraj made his Test debut three years after Bumrah, but he has played only seven Tests fewer than Bumrah has. In both Australia and England, he bowled more overs than Bumrah did (157.1 and 181.2, as opposed to 151.2 and 119.4). Bumrah nabbed more wickets (46 in eight games) than Siraj (41 in 10 games), expectedly, but that does not diminish Siraj's impassioned dedication to his team's case. Almost 20 overs an innings on atypical England surfaces, largely bereft of grass and moisture, a series that has seen action on each of the 24 days of play. Siraj has been at the heart of India's bowling effort because he was there and no one else was. He is the only bowler who has featured in all of India's last four overseas Test tours. Even in Tests since January 2023, he has missed just three of the last 16 games. Mohammed Shami was battling injuries, Bumrah was preserved for marquee tournaments and series. Siraj enjoyed few such considerations, because he was both durable and willing. He is the guarantee that enables Bumrah to replenish and reload. There have been times when the repeated stretching of the sinews has compromised the sting of his bowling. The pouring of emotions has fatigued his mind. But whatever the state of his mind, or the condition of his body, he has perpetually steamed in, bowled as hard and tough as he could, as though every ball he bowled was the best ball he could. He, definitely, is imperfect. He could be scattergun, moody and frustratingly unpredictable, but not because his mind is not there, but because he simply can't reproduce his best day in and day out, in every single Test he plays. Somehow, he becomes double the bowler he is when Bumrah is not around. Something stirs in him. Perhaps it originates from the increased responsibility, a subconscious coping mechanism to the situation, one that performs better in adversity. Maybe he feels a sense of liberation when the shadow of Bumrah does not lean onto him. Maybe it's just happenstance. Even on Sunday, when all had given up, Siraj did not. He bent his back, hit the deck hard, and strove for movement, even if his body sometimes rebelled. The numbers are unflattering, but the toil behind it is not. He struck almost as frequently as Bumrah did (52 and 51.28). There were spells he was unstoppable. There was energy and intensity, difficult attributes to sustain in a long and gruelling tour, bowling with a ragged support cast. For all those junctures of grief and what-if moments, Siraj could reflect on a tour wherein he gave everything and emerged as the leader of this young and raw Indian fast-bowling group. And he, more than anyone else, would barrel down the stairway believing that India could win the Test and draw the series. For one last defining image of the series. A happier one, he would wish.
Hindustan Times
5 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Harry Brook's counter punch leaves India on edge
Mumbai: As rain, bad light and India's late surge of wickets stopped England from racing to another 370-plus run chase and forced the series result into the 25th day of the five-Test saga, Harry Brook might be wondering if his exhilarating hundred on Day 4 at the Oval will after all be categorised as heroic or not. Strangely enough, India's comeback was sparked by Brook's dismissal, charging Akash Deep, which ended his 195-run fourth wicket stand with fellow centurion Joe Root (105). Harry Brook (R) celebrates his century on the fifth Test cricket match between England and India at The Oval in London. (AFP) Every staggering English run chase in the Bazball era has had one headman. Jonny Bairstow was at the front and centre against India in Birmingham 2022. Ben Duckett took Indian bowlers to the cleaners at the start of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Leeds. At The Oval, it was England's future leader Brook's turn to play a signature innings – (111 -98b, 14x4, 2x6) – in true Bazball style. England were 339/6 chasing a target of 374. Brook signalled his arrival in Test cricket spectacularly in 2022 with three aggressive hundreds in Pakistan and added a triple ton on another tour to that country. He was as good an ambassador as head coach Brendon McCullum could find, to showcase the brand of cricket he wanted his team to exhibit. Several of the 26-year-old's hundreds – he's already scored 10 in 30 Tests – have come in batting friendly conditions. But one of Bazball's distinguishing features is scoring against the grain of play. If the ball isn't doing as much, don't accumulate, but double down on scoring. That's what Brook did to India. When he arrived at the crease, England had lost their third wicket and were still 268 runs away. But because the ball was softening and India had only the three seamers to play with, Brook counter-attacked. What ifs and run chase pressure were parked aside. He had tried being funky against Akash Deep at Lord's and failed. Coming at a crucial juncture in the match, he was lambasted by the pundits. But it's unlikely he would have been censured by his dressing room. They would have wanted him to go again, if that put the opposition off. He did just that on Day 4 by going after Deep again, as well as Prasidh Krishna. His is a high risk game and his innings aren't always chanceless. If Mohammed Siraj had not stepped over the boundary rope while taking a catch at fine leg off Krishna, Brook would have been dismissed for 19. But come the next Test, he would try it again. And England's next Test will be the Ashes where they hope this powerful right-handed ball striker who drives with panache, charges fast bowlers, is quick on his feet against spin will prove to be their counter punch against Australia's skilful bowling attack Down Under. Once Brook was let off, after lunch, he began to stroke boundaries taking fewer risks. With the assured presence of Root at the other end and tired legs of India's fast bowlers giving in, it became all too evident that Brook's calculated assault in the first session had shifted the momentum in England's favour. England pick their personnel with care so that there are enough volunteers to pull off heists. If England go on to win the fifth Test – India need 4 wickets (though Chris Woakes is unlikely to bat) and England 35 runs – this will be the first of Brook's hundreds in a winning run chase. Then, he would truly join the brigade and consider it a badge of honour. And this may only be a start. Already England's white-ball captain, it may not be long before they name him Stokes' understudy as called by former England captain Michael Vaughan. First and foremost he would hope England cross the line on Monday. Brook wouldn't want his heroic knock to turn into one in a losing cause.
