After a strong start by England on Day 2 of the fifth Test at The Oval, India’s bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna staged a spectacular comeback. They helped England end their innings at 247. Both pacers Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj finished with four wickets each in the 2nd innings. Notably, at tea time, England were reeling at 215/7, trailing by nine runs behind India’s first innings total of 224.
The likes of Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj were the stars of the show for India in the first innings, taking four wickets each. The two pacers Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj ensured that England’s lead in the first innings stayed to a minimum in the game. It is worth noting that by doing so, the two pacers joined an elite list and became only the fifth Indian pair to take 4+ wicket hauls in a Test match in England. This was Siraj’s second time on the list, as he did the same alongside Akash Deep in the Birmingham clash of the series.
Instances of two Indian bowlers taking 4+ wicket haul in a Test match in England:
L Amarnath (5/96) & V Mankad (5/101), Manchester, 1946
V Prasad (5/71) & J Srinath (5/103), Birmingham, 1996
RP Singh (5/59) & Z Khan (4/79), Lord’s, 2007
M Siraj (6/70) & A Deep (4/88), Birmingham, 2025
P Krishna (4/62) & M Siraj (4/88), The Oval, 2025
Prasidh Krishna played a crucial role in India’s comeback. He got the dangerous Crawley, who smashed a fluent 64. Zak Crawley looked to heave a short of a length on off-stump ball and was caught.Prasidh Krishna then got the big fish in Jamie Smith and followed that up with Jamie Overton’s scalp as India entered tea on a strong note. After tea, he dismissed Gus Atkinson to finish on a high.
Prasidh Krishna clocked 4/62 from 16 overs (1 maiden). Playing his 6th Test, Prasidh Krishna has taken 18 wickets at 35. This is his maiden four-fer in Tests. In 27 First-Class matches, Prasidh Krishna has 98 scalps at around 23. Prasidh Krishna is his 5th four-fer in FC cricket.
Prasidh Krishna’s impressive outing at Oval gives India a chance to make a comeback at Oval.
Prasidh Krishna lit up Day 1 of the fifth Test at The Oval with a spirited spell that rattled England’s middle order, but it was his brief confrontation with Joe Root that drew as much attention as the wickets. The usually calm Joe Root appeared visibly animated during a face-off with Prasidh Krishna, which included a stern stare and a short exchange of words between the two.
Reflecting on the incident at the end of the day’s play, however, Prasidh Krishna dismissed any talk of hostility, framing it as part of the natural edge that comes with high-stakes cricket.The exchange seemed to spark a fierce spell from PrasidhKrishna , who, alongside Mohammed Siraj, triggered a dramatic England collapse after the hosts were cruising with a quickfire 92-run stand for the first wicket.
Zak Crawley’s dismissal opened the floodgates, and England went from 129/1 to 215/7 in no time. Prasidh Krishna returned figures of 4 for 62, matched by Siraj’s 4 for 83, as England folded for 247, claiming a slender 23-run lead. Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting hailed Prasidh Krishna’s attitude on the field and was in all praise of the lanky tall pacer for his immaculate grit and determination.
Ricky Ponting is in all praise of Prasidh Krishna for India’s exceptional comeback on Day 2
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting credited pacer Prasidh Krishna for India’s exceptional fightback on Day 2 of the Oval Test against England. According to Ponting, Prasidh Krishna’s heated exchange with English batter Joe Root brought some-needed energy in the Indian camp after England stareted off to a flier in their first innings.
Fifteen wickets fell on an action-filled Day 2 of the Fifth Test at the Oval at Friday, August 1. Resuming their innings at 204 for 6, India were bowled out for 224. In response, England raced to 92-0 . However Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj claimed four wickets each to restrict England’s lead to a negligible 23 runs.
During a discussion on Sky Sports. Ricky Ponting hailed Prasidh Krishna for his aggression as well as his bowling performances. While admitting that Mohammed Siraj also did well to claim four wickets, he commented :
“India had to find a way to drag themselves back in the contest, which they have done. It’s been an incredibly good day of Test match cricket. Siraj’s the one that’s picked up the wickets. I think Prasidh Krishna actually started it after the break with a bit of aggression. He ran in, he bowled quick, had a bit of an altercation with Joe Root as well. I think that really livened India up.”
Giving credit to the entire Indian bowling line -up or committing to long spells on Day 2 at the Oval, he added :
“With only three seamers, to turn the game around the way that they did… Those quicks had to bowl long spells. They had to do it. The series was on the line.”
Prasidh Krishna registered his career best figures of 4-62 from 16 overs , while Mohammad Siraj claimed 4-86 from 16.2 overs. The third seamer Akash Deep finished for 1-80 with 17 overs.
Earlier in the day, India had been bowled out for 224 after a gritty 57 from Karun Nair and a useful 26 from Washington Sundar. The pair added 55 for the seventh wicket before Gus Atkinson (5/33) and Josh Tongue (3/57) cleaned up the tail. By Stumps, India had erased the deficit and moved to 75/2 in their second innings, with Yashasvi Jaiswal unbeaten on 51 and night-watchman Akash Deep on 4. They will start Day 3 with a 52-run lead and would hope to strengthen it even more further.
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