Ryan ten Doeschate (Pic credit: Sahil Malhotra/TimesofIndia.com)
TimesofIndia.com in London: India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate described the first day of the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval as “fair” for the visitors but conceded that the run-out of captain Shubman Gill and the absence of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah had a major bearing on proceedings.Scorecard: India vs England 5th TestIndia ended Day 1 at 204/6 after being asked to bat under overcast skies. Recalled pacers Gus Atkinson (2/31) and Josh Tongue (2/47) did the bulk of the damage, while Atkinson also effected a direct-hit run-out to dismiss Gill for 21 — just as the India skipper was starting to look ominous.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Speaking to the media after stumps, ten Doeschate lamented the timing and manner of Gill’s dismissal. “He is in the touch of his life, he made batting look easy today,” he said. “We spoke about accumulating during the break, and then… a misjudgment of the run. That was unfortunate.”
Gill’s run-out came when he attempted a sharp single after tapping the ball to short cover. Atkinson swooped in and nailed the stumps, catching the skipper well short.
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On Bumrah’s absence in the series decider, ten Doeschate explained, “Quite a complex situation with Jasprit Bumrah. He has bowled a lot of overs. Like he said before the tour, he was going to play three games…”India had already planned to manage Bumrah’s workload, especially after his long injury layoff earlier in the year. His exclusion was part of four changes India made, also leaving out injured Rishabh Pant, Anshul Kamboj and Shardul Thakur.The assistant coach remained hopeful, praising Karun Nair (52*) and Washington Sundar (19*) for their defiant partnership. “It’s a fair day — if we can push to 300, it will be a great score. Guys by and large did very well today. Sai [Sudharsan] played very nicely… two very good balls by Tongue,” he noted.England, meanwhile, suffered a blow when Chris Woakes left the field late in the day after a shoulder injury.With India trailing 1-2 in the series, the onus now lies on their lower order to extend the fight on Day 2.
