India 224 (Nair 57, Atkinson 5-33) and 75 for 2 (Jaiswal 51*, Tongue 1-25) lead England 247 (Crawley 64, Brook 53, Prasidh 4-62, Siraj 4-86) by 52 runs
Now this, party people, is what it is all about. We had to wait until the last Friday of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, but here it was. The best day's play so far, has, at this juncture, put India in control, 75 for 2 in their second innings, leading by 52.
That it was day two of this fifth and final Test added to the spectacle. The jeopardy of it all felt keenly, a slalom through angst and nerves. Gus Atkinson's fourth five-wicket haul after two months out closed India's first innings for 224. And the same man delivered the final meaningful act, removing Sai Sudharsan LBW, the last of Friday's 15 wickets to fall.
In between, England had been dismissed for 247, a lead of 23 that looked like being a whole lot more when Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett blitzed 92 from 77 deliveries. But it was soon after that point, from lunch with England 109 for 1 and only trailing by 115, that India stirred.
A rousing middle session from Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, 4 for 86 and 4 for 62, respectively, instigated and then completed a collapse that saw all nine wickets fall for 155. Only Harry Brook provided another meaningful contribution with 53. And if there was any doubt that they had ceded the match, it was confirmed in a final 16-over session.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, pugnacious and still alive with 51 not out from 49 deliveries, was dropped twice. First on 20 by Brook, secondly by 40 by sub-fielder Liam Dawson. And though Crawley got away with his miss of Sai Sudharsan on seven, the vibe was of an already stretched team with Chris Woakes ruled out of the match with the shoulder injury sustained on day one, desperately reaching out for a game that may drift out of their reach at some point on Saturday.
When it was in England's grasp, they could do no wrong. They made light work of what remained of India's first innings, who arrived at the Kia Oval on Friday morning on 204 for 6.
After news prior to the start of play that Woakes was ruled out of the rest of the Test with a suspected dislocated shoulder, Atkinson, on his home ground, took it upon himself to take three as the final four came in just 34 deliveries.
Josh Tongue made the first key incision, finishing with 3 for 53, albeit with an approach so chaotic he'd have been struck off if he was surgeon. His first over, opening from the Vauxhall End, went for nine, but he was able to remove Karun Nair for 57 in his second. A sharp delivery that nipped into the stumps - Nair no doubt expected something short and wide either side of them - pinned the right-hander on the back leg. Plumb in front, Nair took one of India's three reviews with him.
Washington Sundar should have assumed the responsibility at that point as an elongated tail became exposed. But he fell five deliveries later, waltzing into a short ball trap, heaving Atkinson to deep square leg, where Jamie Overton sprinted in to take a smart catch.
Atkinson would then skittle Siraj before Prasidh felt for a delivery outside off, completing a collapse of four for six in 18 balls. It left Atkinson with an average of 21, the fourth best for an England seamer with fifty or more dismissals, and the second-best strike rate, ever, at 34.9, for those who have taken 60 wickets.
Then came Crawley and Dukett for their familiar double-act. The latter led the charge, reverse-pulling Akash Deep over the cordon, then "conventionally" ramping Siraj into the sponge for the first two sixes of the match. An attempted third did not just bring about Duckett's end for 43, as he scuffed through to wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, but an arm around the shoulder of the batter from the bowler.
It looked a mix of jest and respect very much, though it did subsequently trigger a shift in the attitude of this match. And when India captain Shubman Gill gathered his players on the edge of the field after the lunch break, there was a sense things were going to be very different. That it suddenly mattered more than ever before.
An eight-over spell from Siraj read 3 for 35, knocking out the engine room. Stand-in skipper Ollie Pope, the prized wicket of Joe Root and Jacob Bethell seen off in the space of 12 overs of play.
All three were found wanting by the right-armer's late movement off the surface, with the slightest lack of bounce, from The Micky Stewart Members' Pavilion End. Pope's required an India review - despite striking the back pad right in front - before Root used one in vain, for 29. Bethell, making his first Test appearance since the New Zealand tour at the end of last year, simply walked for six.
Maybe Prasidh could claim an assist for Root's wicket, having riled up the No. 2 on the all-time Test runs chart. The tall quick was clearly in a confrontational mood, but was vindicated by the results elicited.
He threw a ball at Crawley upon fielding in his follow-through - the pair exchanged an immediate apology and acceptance, respectively. And he was soon in the book when Crawley, on 64, failed to clear Ravindra Jadeja at midwicket.
The shot was in keeping with Crawley's work up to that point; boundary heavy - 48 runs in boundaries in the 42 deliveries it took him to reach a third half-century in the series, and his 24th fifty-plus score overall. But there was a degree of tempestuousness in the stroke. The way the opener struck down the ground and even over cover was calculated. This felt like a shot at revenge.
And so, once Root arrived, Prasidh cajoled him into a back and forth which had England's No. 4 seething. Prasidh then relieved Siraj from his end and took India through to tea with two wickets in five deliveries. Jamie Smith nicked high to KL Rahul at second slip and Overton was trapped LBW for what proved to be the final ball of the session.
Atkinson could and perhaps should have been more conservative and stuck with Brook, instead of holing out to mid-on for Prasidh's fourth. But Tongue held on to allow Brook to perform marshalling duties. And though the Yorkshireman refused singles and failed to find acceptable gaps for even-number runs to keep the strike, he still ticked over to 50 from 57 deliveries.
The best of his six boundaries up to that pint was a sole six, overhead-flipping Siraj into the stands just in front of dressing rooms. But Siraj would get the last laugh, as Brook's open face offered a toe onto his own stumps.
With play extended through to 7.30pm with the extra half hour, England had the chance to make things awkward. But they found themselves immediately on the back foot as Jaiswal raced out of the gates, taking 12 off Atkinson's second over with a punched on-drive, guide beyond third slip and lash through point.
Without Woakes, Tongue opened the bowling, with a recalibrated radar that made his seven overs more consistently probing, without compromising his knack for worldies. Rahul was undone by lift outside off, flirting and guiding off the face low to Root.
But Tongue deserved more, and only Dawson will know why he was not wearing his shades instead of perching them on the top of his cap. The swish from Jaiswal seemed to come to him right out of either the foodlights or the setting sun, cannoning into his upper chest via his chin, having burst through his hands.
The deflation in the stands, closely followed by elation from Indian fans, spoke of how the tables had turned. And that elation grew to boastful cheers when nightwatcher Akash Deep worked his first ball, from Atkinson, through midwicket for four.
He would face one more delivery before the umpires decided the light was not good enough to continue. Saturday will be brighter, and seemingly more so for India.
