India Fights Back as England Ends Day 2 at 215/7 in Fifth Test

In a thrilling Day 2 of the fifth Test at The Oval, India made a strong comeback, with bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna taking crucial wickets. England ended the session at 215/7, trailing by just nine runs. Key performances included Siraj surpassing records and Prasidh's impactful strikes. The match remains tightly contested as both teams vie for dominance. Read on for a detailed breakdown of the day's events and standout performances.

By Narendra Chaudhary Aug 2, 2025, 01:58 IST

India's Resurgence on Day 2

On August 1, during the fifth Test at The Oval, India made a strong comeback as England concluded the second session at 215/7, trailing by just nine runs.

Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj each claimed three wickets, with Prasidh striking twice just before tea, dismissing Jamie Smith, the series' top scorer for England, for eight, followed by Jamie Overton without scoring.

At the start of the second session, England was positioned at 109/1, with Zak Crawley (52*) and Ollie Pope (12*) at the crease, needing 115 runs to equal India's score.

Prasidh Krishna delivered an early blow by removing Crawley for 64 off 57 balls, allowing Joe Root to join Pope. Siraj then took Pope's wicket for 22 off 44 balls in the 25th over.

Root continued to dominate the Indian bowlers, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's record for the second-most runs scored at home in Tests, now totaling 7220 runs in England. He also crossed the milestone of 2000 Test runs against India at home, with only Don Bradman having a higher tally against a single opponent in home Tests.

Siraj dismissed Root for 29 off 45 balls in the 33rd over, bringing Jacob Bethell to the crease. England reached 190/4 after 36 overs, trailing by 34 runs, with Harry Brook and Bethell batting.

Siraj's yorker sent Bethell back to the pavilion for just 6 runs in the 37th over. As Brook and Smith began to build a partnership, Prasidh Krishna took Smith's wicket for 8, thanks to a spectacular catch by KL Rahul in slips.

Earlier, England's Gus Atkinson had a remarkable five-wicket haul, and a rapid 92-run opening partnership between Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley put India on the defensive during the first session of Day 2.

At the end of the first session, England was at 109/1, with Crawley (52*) and Pope (12*) still batting. India began Day 2 at 204/6, with Karun Nair (52*) and Washington Sundar (19*) unbeaten.

The day started positively for India, with both Nair and Sundar hitting boundaries against Josh Tongue in the first over. However, Nair was eventually dismissed for 57 runs off 109 balls, falling victim to an lbw decision from Tongue.

India's score reached 218/7 before Sundar was caught at deep square leg for 26 runs, leaving India at 220/8.

Atkinson's five-wicket haul saw India bowled out for 224 runs in 69.4 overs, with Atkinson (5/33) and Tongue (3/57) proving to be formidable opponents.

Brief Scores: England: 215/7 (Zak Crawley 64, Ben Duckett 43; Prasidh Krishna 3/51) vs India 224 (Karun Nair 57, Sai Sudharsan 38; Gus Atkinson 5/33).