Josh Tongue mops up India's tail again as England fight back in first Test

Independent

5 hours ago

Josh Tongue lived up to his new nickname by blowing away India's tail for the second time in three days and reviving England's hopes of an unlikely win in the first Test at Headingley.
India were streets ahead for most of the fourth day, KL Rahul's 137 and Rishabh Pant's 118 taking their team to a remarkable five centuries in the match, but England came back fighting late on.
Tongue conjured a triple-wicket maiden as India lost their last six batters for just 31 to finish 364 all out, reprising his first-innings role as tail-end destroyer.
Nottinghamshire team-mate Ben Duckett dubbed him 'the mop' after he forced a similar collapse on day two and he was at it again here, wiping out Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah in the space of four balls.
That left England needing 371 for a remarkable win – just seven short of the record chase they managed against the same opposition at Edgbaston in 2022. Zak Crawley and Duckett scored 21 of those in six overs before the close, leaving 350 still to make on what could be a blockbuster final day.
England drew first blood just seven balls into the day's play, Brydon Carse cutting down Shubman Gill's stumps via a big inside edge. With a slim overnight lead of 96 and one of their eight remaining wickets snapped up quickly, the heat was on the batting side.
But in Rahul and Pant, England encountered two men unwilling to go quietly. Rahul was a study in diligence, with Pant a more unpredictable counterpart.
He hacked his second ball a few inches over slip, came down the track to Chris Woakes and knelt to slog-sweep an 87mph delivery from Carse.
Pant even tried a tumbling ramp off the rapid Carse and survived the folly. That was the nudge he needed to put the theatrics to one side.
India ended the morning with just 63 runs on their ledger. Rahul, who made one error on 58 and was shelled by Harry Brook at gully, was responsible for just 25 of them from 82 balls.
But they cashed in impressively after lunch, dialling up the intensity to heap 145 runs in the middle session. Pant rode his luck at times, nicking Tongue through an unoccupied first slip on 31. When England filled that gap, he edged through the gap at second.
But there was some wonderful ball-striking too. He lined up Tongue for some heavy treatment, launched Bashir for two sixes in three balls and punched the loosener of a new Carse spell hard through midwicket.
Such was Pant's whirlwind of activity, it took the confirmation of Rahul's 202-ball hundred to briefly take a share of the spotlight.
Despite tip-toeing carefully through the 90s, Pant was quicker to his hundred by 72 deliveries and became just the second wicketkeeper after former England coach Andy Flower to score twin centuries in the same Test.
England enjoyed a much-needed reprieve when Pant picked out Zak Crawley at long-on eyeing another big blow off Bashir. The relief was palpable after a fourth-wicket stand of 195 that ate up 47 dispiriting overs.
It took another 13 to to prise out the rock solid Rahul, whose occupation of the crease had become a visible drain on English morale.
It was Carse who found a chink in the armour, pounding the pitch hard enough to conjure a hint of extra bounce to undo Rahul's impeccable defence.
When Woakes had Karun Nair caught and bowled it was over to Tongue to work some magic with the second new ball.
He made light work of Thakur, who sprayed straight to slip, roughed up Siraj as the next ball thumped his glove and produced a testing hat-trick ball that Bumrah gamely defended.
That was the extent of his resistance, though, with the next one flattening middle stump.
Having lost seven for 41 on Saturday, India's lower order had flopped again from 333 for four to 364 all out.
The tone of the day had shifted quickly but there was still time for another late twist.
With six overs left – and three from the fearsome right arm of Bumrah – it was a nervy time for Crawley and Duckett.
But they held up their part of the bargain, getting the pursuit safely under way without offering a chance.