Fatigued teams brace for potentially prickly decider at The Oval

“If you wanted a hundred, you should have batted like it earlier”.

“You’re gonna get a Test hundred against Harry Brook and Ben Duckett.”

“It works that you get your hundred, and he [Washington Sundar] is on 90, and we have to wait for him. It’s a bit late in the day for that. We haven’t got two hours for him to get 100.” 

The frustrated jibes from Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes and Ben Duckett to Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar during the last hour of play in Manchester last Sunday, as England were left chirping over two milestones delaying the handshakes, might have spiced up the deciding Test match starting at The Oval tomorrow. 

Yes, the cribbing was pretty rich coming from England, who near the end of day three at Lord’s had one of their own, the opener Zak Crawley, put in a rather crass display of time-wasting. But it has added a layer to what has been box-office Test cricket from Leeds to Birmingham to London to Manchester. 

This has been a hard-fought, energy-sapping series in which all four Tests have gone to the last day. Across five weeks, England and India have played some absorbing cricket on four unyielding pitches and naturally, as bodies have creaked, so too have tempers flared and nerves frayed. 

India, led by 25-year-old Shubman Gill, managed to keep the series alive by batting out the final day at Old Trafford for the loss of two wickets. Kudos and all that. It was not a straightforward situation on the fourth day when England were bowled out for 669. But draw they did, to set up the decider at The Oval. 

Both teams are sapped, that is evident. In the last match, many of England’s bowlers, Stokes included, looked tired and there were indications of potential niggles on day five. For India, Mohammed Siraj had to leave the field during England’s mammoth first innings, while Jasprit Bumrah was also visibly struggling with an ankle as he conceded 100 in an innings for the first time in his 48-Test career. 

Before the start of the summer, Bumrah stated that he would play in only three of these five Tests, and the BCCI’s medical staff has reportedly informed the world’s top-ranked bowler that this will stand. With the series still 2-1, India would have strongly considered playing Bumrah but the risk was too great in the end, given how he struggled with a back injury in Australia at the start of the year which forced him into surgery. 

Akash Deep, who missed the Old Trafford game, is in contention to replace Bumrah. There has been no word on the uncapped left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh. And Kuldeep Yadav, as he has been all tour, looks destined to run drinks. With Rishabh Pant ruled out, Dhruv Jurel will play as his replacement. 

England have added the allrounder Jamie Overton to their squad, and it might be that Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse, who looked fatigued after a wicketless match in Manchester, make way. Overton and Gus Atkinson are the options for England, who will also hope that Stokes finds it in him to lift his body and mind for one more Test. 

India probable playing 11: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 KL Rahul, 3 B Sai Sudharsan, 4 Shubman Gill (capt), 5 Washington Sundar, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dhruv Jurel (wl), 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Akash Deep, 10 Arshdeep Singh/Prasidh Krishna, 1 Mohammed Siraj

England playing 11: 1 Ben Duckett, 2 Zak Crawley, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Liam Dawson, 9 Chris Woakes, 10 Gus Atkinson, 11 Jamie Overton