Unreachable to unplayable – how England had mixed opening day

Josh Tongue had the in-demand Ravindra Jadeja in his sights at the start of the 40th over, which came after two lengthy rain delays, cloudy skies, and a green pitch.

For four wickets, Jamie Smith’s first ball of the over soared past the wicketkeeper. The second was brief, wide, and four times flashy. The third, which snagged away from the left-hander and took the edge, was stunning and on a good length.

From impossible to playable, bizarre to brilliant, from unreachable to impossible.

Three balls that completely encased England as India were held to a score of 204-6 in the first day of the fifth Test at The Oval.

As the sheepish giggle after Jadeja’s wicket suggested, neither Tongue nor India’s batters appeared to be aware of what was about to come next.

Sai Sudharsan had already started the day with a nine-ball over that gave up 11 runs from wides when he had delivered it in a similar delivery four overs earlier, at 107-ball 38.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan described tongue as the bowler I least wanted to face on BBC Test Match Special.

Even though Tongue was likely to have been the only bowler to have inconsistent numbers, Tongue’s was likely to have been the only one with England’s exhausted quicks.

Late in the day, their fortunes changed from bad to worse, with Ben Stokes suffering from a shoulder injury, Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse having been rotated.

Chris Woakes, who was 14 overs into his legs in his fifth Test appearance, sprawled over the boundary rope to save a four, grabbed his shoulder in agony and is unlikely to play a part in the remainder of the match.

England must be wary of overworking him, with Stokes serving as a case study, but Gus Atkinson did impressive when he recovered from a hamstring injury, recording figures of 2-31 from his 19 overs.

India were unable to assert their dominance when they needed a win to avoid a series defeat, despite England’s unforgiving day.

England’s bowling rate was 28%, the second-lowest for any series innings, and they attacked the stumps with only 12%. However, they also drew 24% of their own shots, which is the series’ highest for day one.

Perhaps it is surprising that India’s minds were somewhat scrambled because of the difficult batting conditions, Tongue’s unpredictable spell at one end, and Atkinson’s economic efforts at the other.

Former England international Sir Alastair Cook claimed on the BBC Test Match Special that “Tongue made India do things they don’t want to do.”

He has bowled a few “absolute jaffas,” according to the bowling industry, but liquorice of all kinds is what we used to call them. You think you’re going to be scoring when you confront someone who is so inconsistent.

You believe there are plenty of chances to score, but the possibility of it being anywhere really aggravates your rhythm. Knowing that he’s not bowling well, I should be following him and he drags you into shots, is that mentality.

India’s tenacious duo of Washington Sundar and Karun Nair won a tight match from 153-6, giving them unwavering control over the top order that the rest of the top order had been lacking.

Given the circumstances and India’s sluggish dismissals, it was a curious day with neither side able to hold onto the momentum for significant lengths.

England, if they’re being brutally honest with themselves, on a pitch with 8mm of grass today, they’ve shown enough seam movement and swing to have preferred to bowl India out, Vaughan continued.