Only two days into this fifth and final Test, England are facing a gloves-off battle against a pumped-up Indian team desperate for what they regard as the just deserts of a series draw.
At lunch on the fourth day in Manchester, England had seemed poised for a 3–1 lead and their best triumph since the arrival of Brendon McCullum. By Friday-night stumps at The Oval, following another day of fast cricket and flaring tempers, the possibility was growing of 2–2, after Yashasvi Jaiswal – dropped on 20 and 40 – gave India’s second innings a turbocharged start.
The tourists will resume on Saturday morning on 75 for two, of which Jaiswal has 51 from just 49 balls. They lead by a slender 52, but know that their opponents are a man down because of Chris Woakes’s shoulder injury, and that the weather is set fair for what should be the best batting conditions of the match.
Had England taken their opportunities on a chaotic day of 15 wickets, they might now be favourites. But Harry Brook couldn’t cling on to a tough chance at second slip as Jaiswal flashed at Gus Atkinson, before the substitute fielder Liam Dawson contrived to drop him at long leg after miscuing a pull.
Sai Sudharsan was put down too, by Zak Crawley at third slip off Jamie Overton, though that proved less costly. With the light fading, Atkinson – comfortably England’s best bowler in this match, and a shoo-in for Australia – pinned Sudharsan leg-before for 11, another late twist on a day full of them.
As Sudharsan walked off, he paused to speak to the England huddle, apparently unhappy at something he had heard. Ben Duckett was front and centre, while Brook – improbably – played peacemaker. These sides had been at each other for three sessions, and there is unlikely to be a backward step before the series is done.
India ended a hectic day two on 75 for two in their second innings, leading England by 52 runs
Fifteen wickets fell on Friday, including that of Sai Sudharsan, who did not depart quietly
England were in a great position at 109 for one at lunch, despite Ben Duckett getting out for 43
Earlier, with the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy on the line, India had no compunction crossing it as they set about defending a modest first-innings total of 224 in which Atkinson had produced the superb figures of 21.4–8–33–5.
At Lord’s, it had been England who promised to stop being Mr Nice Guys. Now it was the tourists’ turn to ditch any pretence at diplomacy. The aggro began when Duckett, after counter-attacking superbly for 43 in conditions still helpful to swing and seam, reverse-scooped Akash Deep into the gloves of Dhruv Jurel and immediately found Deep’s arm round his shoulder and some words in his ear.
Those who argued Deep’s intentions were friendly both misread the situation and missed the point. A batsman deserves privacy in the moments after his dismissal. A verbal send-off is bad enough. To instigate physical contact with your victim breaks an unwritten code: Shubman Gill might call it the spirit of the game. Duckett did well to keep his cool.
At lunch, with England 109 for one, having knocked off almost half India’s total in just 16 overs, the former Australian captain Ricky Ponting spoke for many. ‘I like the way Ben Duckett plays his cricket,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘I like him even more now. To not react to that, hats off.’
Things got tastier. Prasidh Krishna removed Zak Crawley, pulling to midwicket for a hard-hit 64, then became involved in a slanging match with Joe Root, of all people. The umpires stepped in, but to no avail, with even the level-headed KL Rahul telling Kumar Dharmasena: ‘What do you want us to do, keep quiet? Bat, bowl and go home?’ Siraj, revelling in the niggle, pinned Ollie Pope lbw for 22 after successfully overturning Ahsan Raza’s decision, and Brook walked out to a mouthful from Ravindra Jadeja, who hadn’t forgotten the mouthful Brook gave him on the fractious final evening in Manchester.
India fed off the energy. Siraj trapped Root for 29 and Jacob Bethell, finally playing his first Test innings in England, for six. And in the last over before tea, Krishna had Jamie Smith caught in the slips, then trapped Jamie Overton, who has struggled on his comeback, plumb in front. Brook’s half-century gave England a lead of 23.
Not for the first time in this series, though, India had made light of the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, the world’s top-ranked bowler, who missed the game they won at Edgbaston, and finished on the winning side in none of the three he played, at Headingley, Lord’s and Old Trafford.
India’s Akash Deep wanted a quick word with Duckett before the England opener walked off
England were eventually bowled out for 247, with only two batsmen scoring more than Duckett
Chris Woakes will remain absent for the rest of the Test after his shoulder injury on Thursday
Siraj averages 10 fewer when Bumrah doesn’t play, a backs-to-the-wall cricketer who flourishes when his team needs him most.
So it felt appropriate that he emerged after tea wearing the headband that sold in its thousands on Surrey’s ‘A Day for Thorpey’, in memory of Graham Thorpe, who died last year. This was the kind of battle he would have loved: a game, and a series, in the balance, and each run chiselled from adversity.
Siraj’s high-class four-for took his haul for the series to 18, one more than Ben Stokes. And with Woakes now out of action, and in all likelihood the winter’s Ashes, Siraj may shortly be able to claim to be the only seamer on either side to have got through all five Tests.
First, though, there is a game to be won. Increasingly, too, there are scores to be settled. Despite the rancour of the past few weeks, there are some who insist these teams actually get on. A combustible summer could yet explode its way to a conclusion.
