ENG vs IND: 5th Test, Day 1, Talking Points – Karun Nair’s steady fifty keeps India afloat

India ended the opening day of the final Test of the ongoing series against England on 204/6 at the end of 64 overs. The hosts asked Shubman Gill’s team to bat after he lost his fifth toss in a row.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (2 off 9) copped his fifth single-digit score and departed after being trapped by Gus Atkinson. After surviving in the middle for almost an hour, KL Rahul chopped one onto his stumps to depart for 14 off 40. An early lunch was taken as it started pelting down at The Oval.

The match was delayed significantly due to a wet outfield. Play finally resumed after a couple of hours. Hardly five overs since play was back in motion, a massive error in judgement brought about the end of Gill due to a run-out at the striker’s end. An over later, the players went off the field for an hour and 15 minutes due to rain.

Karun Nair, one of the four changes that India made from the Manchester Test, was quite defensive with his strokeplay. Josh Tongue struck twice in a short period to get rid of Sai Sudharsan (38 off 108) and Ravindra Jadeja (21 off 35). The remainder of the day was played out by Karun (52* off 98) and Washington Sundar (19* off 45) after the dismissal of Dhruv Jurel (19 off 40).

Talking Points

1) Jaiswal’s recent struggles against the new ball spark form concerns

Out of the nine innings Jaiswal has played so far this series, there have been six times where he has not been able to surpass the 30-run mark. In all those occurrences, the left-handed batter has looked tentative against the new ball. It will be intriguing to witness how he responds in the second innings.

2) Sudharsan, Jadeja perish to gems from Tongue

Tongue started quite wayward and continued to be inaccurate throughout the day. However, the deliveries he bowled to get the better of Sudharsan and Jadeja were unplayable. Both of them ended up nicking behind to the wicketkeeper.

3) Karun’s steady fifty keeps India afloat

Not many had expected Karun to take part after being dropped for the fourth Test. However, he was given a chance by the team management and did not disappoint. He built his innings quite well after the slow start and stitched a valuable unbeaten 51-run stand with Sundar.