On Day one of Test match five at the Oval, England once again won the toss and decided to bowl first. India have lost all of their last 15-coin tosses, across the men’s international games. It was a disappointing day for the away side, considering how good they were in match four in the second innings. As the opening day ended at the Oval, India had 204 runs on the board, while losing six wickets.
Day two got underway and it was a short-lived round of batting for the away nation. After just half an hour, India were all-out. A superb performance from bowler Gus Atkinson saw him take five wickets and give England a huge boost ahead of their first innings.
Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar had a total of 208 runs in the second innings at Old Trafford in match four, but in their first innings in match five, the duo combined a total of 35 runs. The pair were both caught out after a disappointing display at the wickets. Deep, Krishna and Siraj all scored no runs, from 13 balls delivered.
The Three Lions came flying out of the traps as Zack Crawley hit an impressive 64 off 57 balls, which included 14 boundaries to help England’s run tally rise. Crawley totalled 64 runs during his stint before he was caught out by Jadeja. England will be disappointed with their first innings showing, as they were 247 all-out.
England were 23 runs to the good as day three began, which saw India carry on their second innings. The away team were 73-2, but at the end of the third day, they were all-out with a score of 396. Yashasvi Jaiswal was the standout batter in his team’s second round of batting, which saw him score 118 runs from 164 balls. All eyes turned to England, who were eyeing up their first win in a Test series against India since 2018. India were hoping to break England’s hearts and secure a win at the Oval, which would draw the series.
The fourth day got underway, and England were looking to build on their 50 runs with one out, with the possibility of winning the Test series. But as the day was getting towards its latter stages, India kept their hopes alive by taking four wickets in total on day four. The Three Lions were looking for only 35 runs, with India needing to take five wickets in the process to stop the home side from winning on home soil.
The fifth and final day of match five. The most important day of the series. Everything has built up to this moment at the Oval. 35 runs is all for the home team to secure victory. England with a score of 339-6, chasing 374.
Jamie Smith was the first England batter to lose his wicket, with his team needing 27 to win. Three wickets remained and India had to be on their A-game if they were to pull off a remarkable result away from home. Smith was caught out by Dhruv Jurel, after only totalling two runs from 20 deliveries. 353-7 was England’s second innings score, targeting 24 runs. The tally was slowly coming down. But Overton’s wicket was took due to an LBW. He helped to add nine runs in total to England’s score, as it stood at 354-8. A dramatic finale was guaranteed, with two wickets remaining for India to seal a series draw, but 20 runs for England guaranteed the win.
Another blow was handed to the batting side, as their ninth wicket was taken. This time, Josh Tongue was bowled out by Prasidh Krishna. With no other option, Chris Woakes walked out to the crease.
The 36-year-old, with his left arm in a sling, walked out to bat to try and give his team the best possible chance of winning and giving his all. Even with a dislocated shoulder, nothing was stopping Woakes from batting. 17 to target, one batter in a cast and the pressure was higher than ever.
10 runs remained; Gus Atkinson was the final hope for the home nation. India were here to spoil the party after a stunning stint bowling.
There was a Hollywood ending at the Oval, but not a happy ever after for England. Mohammed Siraj bowled out Atkinson, with the hosts trailing by just six runs. The win was sealed for India and their bowler ran off in celebrations, doing Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic ‘siu’ celebration.
A Test series draw 2-2 in England, which had everything. The tension was through the roof at some stages and both teams gave it their all. But India were the happiest of the two on day five, in a match that will go down for the ages.
England: 247 all-out (1I) and 367 all-out (2I)
India: 224 all-out (1I) and 396 all-out (2I)
