Karun Nair impresses with a Hard fought 50 and india are 204/6 at the end of day1 of the 5th test

@Karun Nair playing a shot during his half-century innings vs England at The Oval 2025

 

Overview and Context Match:

The 5th and the final Test (AndersonTendulkar Trophy) commenced at The Oval, London on 31 July 2025. With England 2-1 up in the series, they chose to bowl first on a green tinged pitch that evidently favoured seam bowling under grey skies Ben Stokes is injured, and Ollie Pope  vice-captain who led the team at the beginning of the match Rain then followed in between every decision to turn into a spoilsport and make the game skip from 20 to 24 overs of real game to 64.

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Indian Innings: Wickets Falls & batting Collapse 

Early Setbacks

• India started in a small way.the youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal was lbw to the   new ball bowler Gus Atkinson after scoring a mere 2 runagain, prolific run   contributor in the series KL Rahul was not far behind, he was chopping on to his stumps off   Chris Woakes for 14 Both dismissals gave impetus to English attack and an early jitter to India.

Middle-Order Woes:

Within the first half of the innings, India got an early stability in the third-wicket connection between Shubman Gill (captain) and Sai Sudharsan. Sudharsan made a mature knock scoring 38 runs off 108 balls and he was caught at slip off Josh Tongue

The incident which dismays that innings, as hawkers say, was the run-out for 21 of Gill, who had scored 21, by a stinging throw and a direct hit by Atkinson--a really important moment in the contest This was followed by Ravindra Jadeja getting out cheaply at 9 and then Dhruv Jurel missing a middle order firepower at 19 India was once at 5 down for 123 runs in the quest of collapsing before a disciplined seam bowling attack of England.

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Key Bowling Performers: English Seam Attack:

Gus Atkinson

Atkinson got the initiative with 2 wickets and a crucial run‑out and his pace and accuracy on debut in this series was impressive.The two dismissals borne by him were Jaiswal and Jurel and his direct hand in running out Gill. His domination per se received unreserved plaudits as shifting the tide of the game towards English side.

Josh Tounge

Tongue claimed 2 wickets, getting Sudharsan and Jadeja to add more to further collapse of the Indian cricket team despite occasionally wayward deliveries.

Chris Woakes

Woakes dismissed KL Rahul and pitched up well but his run was ended by a   suspect shoulder dislocation in the field. The injury is a potential blow to his   further playing as well as to the depth of the bowling of England itself

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Late Resurgence: Nair and Sundar rescue India

following the collapse, a sensational revival was facilitated by Karun Nair and Washington Sundar

• Karun Nair had nothing to lose, and played under a lot of pressure, scoring   his first half-century of the seriesHis 52* runs off 98 balls had   boundaries at the right time and strike rotation happened when necessary

• The supporting act of Washington Sundar contributed 19 runs off 45 balls to the total and were equally defensive followed by scoring just felling the bowlers.

They combined to make a vital 51-run not out partnership that took India to 204 for 6 by the end of the first day, and which denied England the chance of a comprehensive clean sweep.

Playing Conditions and interruptions:

Amidst the significant rain delays, the lunch and tea were early due to wet outfield. The humid atmosphere favored seam bowling but also messed up rhythm of both teams. There are moments when it is sluggish and even shot in the style of a typical stretched series finale Because of lousy weather conditions, there was just 64 overs played which is not close to a full day of the match. England dominated all the time, but with the frequent stoppages, no team could build good momentum.

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Looking Ahead: The State of the Match

• In an extremely strong finish, England appeared to be in the drivers seat. And   with  six players down in the number and only a tail that wags at the crease, they are in a good position to bowl India out cheaply on Day 2 to leave them a target of under 250 or even 220

• But the availability of Woakes is of concern to their plans. Losing an                effective bowler of the spin attack can undermine their attack in the                    subsequent days

• India who were initially in a bind of pressure have kicked a loophole of fight. Nair   may make his 50 a big score and Sundar keep pushing on, they may   feature a   testing run chase or first innings lead of more than 250.

England have a chance of trying to stretch the game on Day 2 to finish early after getting an initial advantage. However, the Nair and Sundar partnership can continue and India can manage to regain their composites and post a competitive score in the first innings yet.

Day1 Summary Table

Category                               Details

Match                               India v England, 5th Test, Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy

Venue & Date                  The Oval, London 31 July 2025

Toss & decision                England won and chose to bowl underovercast, green                                                                    surface

India' 1st Innings              204/6 at stumps in 64 overs

Top Indian Batsmen         Karun Nair 52*(98), Washington Sundar 19*(45),                                                                           Sudharsan 38

Notable Dismissals          Jaiswal (2), Rahul (14), Gill (21), Jadeja (9), Jurel (19)

Key English Bowlers        Atkinson (2 wickets and a run-out), Tongue (2 wickets),                                                                    Woakes, injured

Match Context                  England 2-1 up in the series, India need to win to draw

Weather impact                Rain delays; just 64 overs bowled; the bowlers had an                                                                   advantage over the batters

Final Words:

Day 1 at The Oval was a textbook case of English conditions favoring swing and prudent bowling is the order of the day. England, without some of their most valuable men, and having a play of about as perfect a day, found themselves in a majority.Gus Atkinson's emergence, Tongue's breakthrough, and Gill had been run out, by which mischances the advantage of the English was gained in the beginning.

India responded by proving persistent thanks to a battling half-century by Karun Nair and smart thinking by Washington Sundar who took the innings on some sort of respectable course. The possibility of the comeback on Day 2 with Jaiswal and Rahul back on field, in case the lower order survive would be crucial to series hopes.

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On day2 of play, India would have to work hastily not only to prevent an innings defeat but also to retrieve lost ground in this thrilling series-decider.

Brief Scores: India 204/6 (Nair 52*, Sudharsan 38; Tongue 2-47, Atkinson 2-31).