ENG vs IND: 4th Test – England take honours but Thakur steals the show on Day 1
After a humiliating loss at Headingley, Team India didn’t get off to the most ideal start on Day 1 of the 4th Test at The Oval. Being put in to bat first by Joe Root, the visitors were bundled out for a paltry 191 thanks to some brilliant bowling from the Englishmen. But England’s batting wasn’t that impressive after all as they lost their top three batsmen by stumps.
Here are the talking points from the day’s play at The Oval:
Indian batsmen falter yet again
After the failure in Leeds, the Indian batting unit was expected to bounce back in the Oval Test. For the first half an hour, things seemed alright as the openers tried to see off the new ball. But once Rohit Sharma was dismissed, the rest of the batting order found it difficult to hold on. Apart from captain Virat Kohli’s 50, no one in the top seven crossed the 20-run mark and it just summed up a poor batting display.
Chris Woakes impresses on return
Woakes’ return into the England side was going to be a positive boost for the hosts. And it didn’t take him long to get into the action. In the very first over, he dismissed Rohit and that started India’s downfall, bringing England right back into the game. After lunch, he got Ravindra Jadeja and then right after tea, Woakes had dismissed the dangerous Rishabh Pant. When Shardul Thakur’s onslaught started to threaten the hosts, Woakes got his wicket and completed a stunning four-wicket haul.
Shardul Thakur’s heroics with the bat
Thakur walked out to bat when India were reeling at 117/6. After a few overs, Pant was dismissed and Thakur then decided to take the attack to the opposition. He put the pressure back on England with his counter attacking batting and took India’s score to a little bit of respectability. He scored a fiery 57 off 36 balls, hitting seven fours and three sixes on his way.
Bumrah’s double blow
After being bowled out for just 191, India desperately needed to come back with a strong start with the ball. They needed wickets early on and Jasprit Bumrah provided just that in his opening spell. He dismissed both the openers, Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed in his second over to peg England down early on. He bowled five overs up front giving 15 runs and taking those two scalps.
