IND vs ENG, 5th Test: England Gasps As India Roars In Oval Epic
| A nail-biting end to the Oval Test saw India clinch a six-run win and level the series 2-2. Karan Pradhan recaps the records, regrets and revelations from a cracking finale.
| IF EVER an advertisement was needed for the glorious format of Test cricket, one could do a lot worse than the Oval Test. England fell an agonising six runs short of shattering the 123-year-old record of highest fourth innings score to win a Test at The Oval. But the final day and the final act of the fourth day belonged to the Indian bowlers, specifically Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. The former picked up a richly-deserved five-wicket haul and the latter proved to be a more than solid foil as the duo snapped up England’s last six wickets for only 35 runs. However, before the triumph came a fair dose of farce with the umpires strangely calling off play 90-odd minutes early on account of rain, poor light or something else altogether on Sunday evening. At the time, England was on 339/6 with Jamies Smith and Overton at the crease. Most distressingly for India (and its legions of fans), the ball was actually doing a bit and the chance of pushing on for a victory was high. Having to return the next day, particularly with the hard-hitting English wicketkeeper still around, was probably not what Shubman Gill and his charges wanted. | Nevertheless, Siraj turned up in inspired form and ripped the heart out of the English lower order, capped with the final wicket of Gus Atkinson. And wouldn’t you know it, India registered the narrowest victory margin at The Oval in 100 years to mark a fascinating summer of Test cricket. On its part, England pulled out all the stops, including sending a one-armed Chris Woakes out to push for a win after the team’s fantastic performance in the Test overall. Unfortunately, the loss of the last six wickets for 66 runs (particularly after being 301/3) did the hosts in. Stream the latest films and shows plus live sports, with OTTplay Premium's Power Play monthly pack, for only Rs 149. As the curtains come down on a memorable and hard-fought 2025 edition of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy (the first of its name, lest we forget) that ended at a thrilling 2-2, here’s a look at five key talking points from the fifth Test: How crucial was Bethell’s wicket? At 332/4, England was cruising and a record-breaking win was just around the corner. Unfortunately for the hosts, the visiting pacers were enjoying a second (or third) wind. Jacob Bethell, playing his first Test in the series, had the relatively basic task of keeping Joe Root company in England’s march to 374. His strange decision to deal solely in defensive shots or massive hits eventually cost him his wicket, and set the wheels in motion for the hosts’ eventual downfall. It’s hard to shake off the notion that England would probably have romped to victory had he kept his head. | India’s team makeup The visitors’ think-tank has been fairly conservative and defensive with its selection throughout the series, and it was no different in the final Test. Coach Gautam Gambhir and Co’s decision to pack the team with allrounders rather than enlisting the services of at least four frontline bowlers almost came back to bite the team in the proverbial. While Akash Deep, Siraj and Krishna combined handily to bowl out England for 247 in the first innings, the issues with going into a Test with only three main bowlers were left brutally exposed in the second. Despite its best efforts, the trio was unable to prevent Harry Brook and Joe Root from assembling a gargantuan partnership that threatened to take the game away from India. Perhaps the final analysis might have been a bit more comfortable for India had the team gone into the game with either Kuldeep Yadav or Arshdeep Singh among its lineup. | Root still has plenty to offer When it came to breaking records, Shubman Gill may have been in the spotlight for most of the series, but it was Root who had the statisticians busily crunching numbers by the end of it. Over the course of the Oval Test, he became the first batter to complete 6,000 runs in the ICC World Test Championship, the first batter to score 500-plus runs in a series against India thrice and is only 2,378 runs short of Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 15,921 Test runs. At 34, the former England skipper still has plenty of gas left in the tank and with a long Ashes tour on the horizon, more than enough motivation to add to his kitty. Siraj the leader The game, for all intents and purposes, was dead and buried. At 301/3, India had been pummeled into submission by Harry Brook, one of the finest purveyors of Bazball. The visitors soon enjoyed a slice of luck as the England No 5’s mishit landed in Siraj’s hands. Surely, it was too late for an Indian comeback. Try telling that to Siraj, who marshalled his junior fast-bowling teammates and led the comeback with a fiery spell after tea. His effort inspired Krishna who chipped in with the useful wicket of Jacob Bethell. It’s worth noting at this point that Siraj was the only bowler to play every single Test in the series. In Bumrah’s absence, he led the pack with aplomb and finished up as the series’ top wicket-taker and match-winner, and his future as a leader looks bright indeed. | A case for injury substitutes The loss of Chris Woakes to injury mid-match arguably affected England more than the loss of Rishabh Pant did India. However, both these absences raised a very crucial question: Why should only concussion substitutes get to perform all the duties of the players they replace? As it stands, the like-for-like replacement only comes into play if a player is deemed to have suffered a blow to the head. Perhaps the bigwigs at the ICC will reconsider the substitute provision in the future. But for now, spare a thought for Woakes, who was forced to turn up (despite a shoulder injury) with a strapped up arm and ready to bat left-handed (as opposed to right-handed as normal), only to watch Siraj blow Atkinson’s off stump away to seal a famous win. Karan Pradhan is editor-in-chief of Story Mode , a gaming & gaming-adjacent magazine. | Like what you read? Get more of what you like. Visit the OTTplay website or download the app to stay up-to-date with news, recommendations and special offers on streaming content. Plus: always get the latest reviews. Sign up for our newsletters. Already a subscriber? 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