IND vs ENG 5th Test, Day 1: Wickets tumble in tough batting conditions; Karun Nair holds firm at The Oval
LONDON: As Shubman Gill closed his eyes and turned to make the long walk back to the dressing room after being run out in careless fashion, he knew he had exposed the Rishabh Pant-less middle order to the toughest batting conditions in the series so far.
India were then at 83/3, and their worst fears came when as they found themselves in the middle of a mini-collapse at 153/6 after Dhruv Jurel loosely edged Gus Atkinson to Harry Brook at second slip for 19.
Karun Nair, forever on trial, took strike off the next ball. He knew he got a chance to bat at No. 5 because India were trying to make up for the absence of Pant. Nair, having got another lifeline to stretch his Test career, negated the tough conditions at the Oval with composure and immaculate technique to bring up a half-century.
This was his only score above fifty besides the triple century he scored against England in Chennai in 2016.
Nair walked back to the pavilion at stumps on 52 off 98 balls, with the in-form Washington Sundar on 19 off 45. Nair ensured India were still in the game, with the scoreboard reading 204/6 at close on Day One.
With Chris Woakes going off the field with a suspected severe shoulder injury, Nair and Washington may fancy themselves to put the English bowling under pressure on Friday morning.
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As he has done in the other three matches he has played in, Nair absorbed the pressure from one end in a desperate bid to avert a collapse after India lost a set Sai Sudharsan and Ravindra Jadeja in quick succession.
Nair never let the English bowlers dictate terms, hitting with some crisply-timed drives and shots off his pads. His knock took the mind off Gill's moment of madness after looking so good at the crease.
Whenever Gill the batter goes in for a practice session, he leaves Shubman Gill the captain behind.
Discussions with the team management only happen when he is through with all his batting drills. At the Oval on Wednesday, Gill looked distracted. He walked back and forth while padding up, discussing strategies with the coaching staff.
This has been a gruelling series for Gill. Yet, on Thursday, his imperious form with the bat ensured another sublime start in testing conditions on the first morning of the final Test.
He came out to bat at 38/2 with the ball jagging around off the distinctly green pitch under the gloomy London skies. He looked in absolute control to move to 21 off 35 on either side of the two-and-half hour-long rain break. He also galloped past a significant milestone — the most runs by an Indian captain in a series, beating Gavaskar's 732 against West Indies in 1978.
And then the big brain fade happened. In between all the rain breaks, Gill tapped a short-of-a-goodlength delivery off Gus Atkinson back to the bowler and took off for a run.
Six steps into the run, he turned back, but Atkinson had already broken the stumps with a direct hit.
After coming in to bat at 0/2 in Manchester last week to save the Test, this was the earliest Gill had to take strike in an innings after KL Rahul dragged Chris Woakes on to the stumps to leave India vulnerable at 38/2. With Sudharsan at the other end batting at No. 3, Gill was in his comfort zone from the word go. The chemistry between the two from Gujarat Titans was on display.
It looked like India were shaping up for another big score in their first innings in the series.
Gill brought out his lazy elegance, finding the boundary through cover and square-leg off front and backfoot punches even as the floodlights were switched on. Sudharsan's defence looked impeccable before the moment indiscretion ruined recovery for India.
The ball was comfortably flying to the wicketkeeper at head height, a rare sight in the series.
The English attack, helped by rain breaks, was always going to come hard at the Indian batters all day.
Tongue, picked for the first time after Jofra Archer had replaced him in the third Test, proved the most challenging bowler to face. Spraying it around for wides and extras, Tongue landed one on the spot to catch Sudharsan's outside edge to end his gritty innings of 38 off 108. Sudharsan punched his bat in frustration after throwing away another good-looking start. It's up to Nair to go big now.
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