Chris Woakes stars in the first test since August 2020 when England take 191 in India on day one; Shardul Thakur’s 31-ball half century traces tourists from 127-7 before the hosts lose Rory Burns (5), Haseeb Hameed (0) and Joe Root (21) before the stumps.
Chris Woakes scored his first Test in over a year at 4-55 when England rolled India down 191, only to later lose Joe Root in form by 21 when they closed out an absorbing Day One of Test Four at The Kia Oval in 53 -3.
Woakes was named England’s Player of the Summer for 2020 with his excellent form, including 17 wickets in five Tests with an average below 21, but a combination of injury, Covid quarantine and rotation meant that the sailor had not played an international of red ball ever since.
The 32-year-old returned in style after replacing Sam Curran in the England XI, sacking Rohit Sharma (11) with his sixth installment, eliminating Ravindra Jadeja (10) and Rishabh Pant (9), and then finishing with a scorching blow from India. The eighth Shardul Thakur (57 against 36), who broke three sixes and seven fours to lift India to 127-7.
Thakur’s 50 with 31 balls was the fastest in a test in England, beating Sir Ian Botham’s 32-ball effort against New Zealand, also at The Oval, in 1986.
Umesh Yadav, who had been on the other end when Thakur dominated a spot in the eighth 63-for-48-ball wicket, then scooped up England captain Root’s award-winning scalp before the stumps, pitching the top-ranked new test hitter from the field. world between bat and pad with a beauty.
Jasprit Bumrah previously counted on starters Rory Burns (5) and Haseeb Hameed (0) to reduce England to 6-2, the former crawling on his stumps from an inside edge and the latter trapped behind in the cut for a 12-year-old duck. balls. while Dawid Malan (26th) and night watchman Craig Overton (1st) finished the day on the fold, with the hosts losing by 138.
India captain Virat Kohli (50), abandoned by Root to Woakes on the 22nd, was the only visiting batsman, except Thakur, to pass 17, as his team followed a miserable 78 score in the first inning during their defeat of innings and 76 runs in the third round at Leeds with another modest total, the visiting team shot 61.3 overs amid a spotty reception from England,
Ollie Robinson (3-38) was the man who claimed Kohli’s wicket as a hitter sequence without a Test hundred extended to 20 innings, with his previous ton against Bangladesh in Kolkata in November 2019.
That will frustrate Kohli, as will most of the bats on his team, but he will be boosted by the fight with the ball and especially by the fact that Root, who has scored six centuries of testing in 2021 and three in the same number of games against India this summer. , has been banished cheaply.
Root chose to go bowling after winning the toss, which was understandable considering the clouds and India’s hitting woes in Leeds: Tourists were shot 40.4 overs in their first innings before losing eight second-inning wickets. for 63 runs.
Rohit and KL Rahul (17) got off to a positive start, but Woakes’ introduction after eight overs sparked the first wicket when Rohit got ahead of Jonny Bairstow.
India was 28-1 after nine overs and 28-2 after 14 when Robinson pinned Rahul lbw with a pinch during England’s seventh consecutive maiden.
Cheteshwar Pujara (4) prevented that from turning into an eight when he outpointed Woakes on the square leg for four – the England locksmith conceded his first runs since the 19th installment he pitched.
However, that showed that Pujara was the only scoring shot on 31 balls and he finally landed a good shot from James Anderson who bowed and then took Bairstow, who remains in the window with Jos Buttler losing the test while awaiting the birth. of his second son. .
Woakes picked up a second late wicket after lunch, taking Jadeja, who had been promoted from No. 7 to No. 5 in the order, caught low by Root on the first slip after seeing his patron drop Kohli at that spot two overs before.
The ball wobbled late after Kohli passed Woakes and Root only managed to touch it with his fingertips as he moved to his right, and the ball eventually divided Root and second sliding fielder Burns.
India’s regular No. 5 Ajinkya Rahane ranked lower at No. 6 and Woakes was given lbw at one, only to have the decision overturned on review and the delivery marginally bounced off the stumps.
Kohli was the next man to go, so he couldn’t move on after serving half a century for the second time in as many innings while taunting Robinson from behind, just as he had on the fourth and final day at Leeds.
Rahane (14) was out shortly before tea, with Moeen Ali, England’s vice captain for this game in Buttler’s absence, catching an excellent low catch to his right in the gully of the Overton bowling alley.
Moeen then caught Pant midway at the start of the final session with a slower ball from Woakes.
Pant often supplies the batting fireworks, but they materialized once he was out this time, with the remembered Thakur playing a throbbing punch as he broke a memorable half-century.
Thakur touched Woakes for five fours and six, hit a four and a max from Overton and completed his fifty by hitting Robinson for four and six of successive deliveries, after being dropped by Bairstow at 43 earlier in the end.
It took a successful lbw overhaul for the Thakur fun to end and the innings ended shortly after: Bumrah (0) ran off without facing a ball after running on a catch dropped from Overton on a slide, and Umesh (10) caught with one hand by Bairstow.
