India and England are all set to stretch their limits in the fifth and final Test match beginning at The Oval on Thursday. With the series tilted 2-1 in England’s favour, India will be looking to put their best foot forward to win this one and level the series. England, on the other hand, will do everything to extend their lead and clinch the series to mark their domination.
The series has been a perfect promotion for Test cricket with all four games stretching to the final session on the fifth day. The tussles between the two sides have also spiced up the series, adding to the excitement. Be it Shubman Gill’s tirade against Zak Crawley for deliberately wasting time at the Lord’s or Ravindra Jadeja refusing to call off the proceedings on the final day of the fourth Test after being approached by Ben Stokes, the series has reached a crescendo in terms of the hot and sweet engagement between the two sides. And Gautam Gambhir has only added to this intensity with his altercation with Oval curator Lee Fortis.
Cricket fans can expect the series finale to go down to the wire as well. In his first series as captain of a team undergoing a major transition, Gill has led from the front. With 722 runs, he is only 52 runs away from Sunil Gavaskar’s record of most runs by an Indian in a series. He needs another 11 runs to surpass Gavaskar's record of most runs (732) by an Indian captain in a Test series (1978-79 vs West Indies). Having played a massive role in earning a famous draw from an almost hopeless situation, Gill and his team go into the finale with momentum on their side.
With 511 runs, K L Rahul has also been a model of consistency at the top of the order, but more will be expected from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan on what is usually a decent batting surface at The Oval. In Rishabh Pant’s absence, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja are expected to round up the top six after their unbeaten hundreds in the fourth Test.
Since the Indian management believes in having a batting option till number eight, spinner Kuldeep Yadav could again be left out of the playing eleven despite constant calls for his inclusion. Wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel could bat at seven in Pant’s absence and Shardul Thakur might retain his place at eight despite not enjoying the confidence of his skipper.
Going by batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, India will retain the template followed thus far. "See you have to see the balance of both batting and bowling to win the match. Because, like you're saying, you have to take 20 wickets. Similarly, it's equally important that you score 550-600 runs," said Kotak.
Mohammed Siraj will be the leader of the attack and the third pacer’s slot will go to either Prasidh Krishna or Arshdeep Singh, who is patiently waiting for his Test debut.
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