IND Vs ENG: The Oval Allowed 1444 Runs, 6 Hundreds And A Triple Century In Its Last Match
India's England tour will conclude with the fifth Test at The Oval in London. The contest starts from Thursday (July 31) and its outcome will decide the fate of what has been a hard-fought series. India's terrific comeback to secure a draw in Manchester has kept the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy alive with England currently leading 2-1.
The series was expected to be a trial by fire for an in-transition India squad especially in the absence of stalwarts Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin – each having retired from Test cricket. However, India batters, and bowlers to an extent, have been impressive.
The batters have made hay in conditions which have traditionally suited fast bowlers. The likes of Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant have scored over 400 runs each. This has been a breakthrough tour for Gill as far as his Test career is concerned.
The India Test captain has polished his middling Test credentials with by racking up over 700 runs so far across eight innings. He looks set to achieve more milestones.
And given how the pitch at The Oval behaved in its last first-class fixtures, the batters, from both the teams, will be licking their fingers.
Incredible Run-Fest The Oval
The venue not so long ago hosted a county championship match between Surrey and Durham. The match ended in a draw. And the pitch was absolute belter.
Durham opted to bowl first and their bowlers were made to toil for nearly 162 overs by Surrey batters. Opener Dom Sibley led the run-fest with a triple-century – 305 off 475 – as Surrey racked up a mammoth total of 820/9 in 161.3 overs before showing mercy and declaring their first dig.
Three other Surrey batters also recorded scores in triple-digits. Dan Lawrence made 178, Will Jacks cracked 94-ball 114 while Sam Curran struck 108 off 124.
Durham's response was quite underwhelming as they were asked to follow-on after being bowled out for 362. Captain and opener Alex Lees was the lone centurion of their first innings.
However, Durham openers join the fun while following on with Lees peeling off his second century of the match while Emilio Gray, who made 7 in the first dig, made 156 not out. Durham made 262/0 in 55.4 overs before the farce came to an end. A total of 1444 runs were scored across three innings with as many as six centuries and one triple-ton recorded across four days of play.
Will the venue dish out another batting paradise?
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