England crashed to a nerve wracking 6-run loss to India as the visitors came roaring back in the series to level it up at 2-2. The series was epic and so was the match at the Oval as there was nothing to choose between the two teams. England lost the key moments in the game while India just about held their nerves. England must be thinking and pondering what might have been and we will try and give reasons why the hosts lost the final Test match.
Chris Woakes’ dislocated left shoulder handicaps England
One of the main reasons why England lost this contest was they were down to 10 men after the first day of the Test match. Chris Woakes who bowled a decently on the opening day chased after a ball and while fielding dislocated his left shoulder which led him to immediately leave the field. He later played no further part in the Test match with the ball and did not bat in the first innings either.
This meant the likes of Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and Jamie Overton had to do the bulk of the bowling as England did not have back-up pace bowlers with them. They had Jacob Bethell and Joe Root as part-time spinners but they bowled sparingly as there was nothing for the spinners on that Oval track. The trio without Woakes bowled their hearts out but had to bowl a lot of overs especially in the second innings.
Josh Tongue got a 5-wicket haul in second innings while Gus Atkinson achieved the same in the first innings. Jamie Overton was a good support for them but it meant India made 396 in the second innings after making 224 in the first innings. The batters had a big chase ahead of them. Woakes is a premier all-rounder who played in all the Test matches before and it was unfortunate he got injured. Looking at his severity of the injury, he could be a doubtful starter for Ashes 2025-26 in Australia. England needs to find out how to sort this issue out.
Lower middle order collapses in both innings hurts England badly
England started strongly in both innings as the duo of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett were able to give the hosts a solid start in both the innings. The duo put on 92 for the first wicket in the first innings and England were going great at 175/3 in response to India’s 224. But then suddenly Root got out and they collapsed to be 247/9 with Harry Brook the last man out and Woakes unable to bat meant England lost 6/72 to take a slender 23-run first innings lead where it could have been more.
The more shocking collapse came was in the second innings in the chase of 374. England got off to a decent solid start with the openers putting on 50 for the first wicket. India struck back with 3 quick wickets as Duckett, Crawley and Pope fell to leave the hosts at 106/3. Then Harry Brook and Joe Root put on a match-defining 195-run stand to take the game away from India and the score read 301/3 with 73 more needed for the win. Harry Brook got out and elicited a collapse.
Soon, Jacob Bethell fell and then the big one of Joe Root as India believed all of a sudden. England lost 7/66 and out of that 4/28 on the final morning to lose the Test match by 6 runs. The likes of Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton failed to come to the party and did not contribute with the bat. England added depth in batting but they crumbled under pressure. Gus Atkinson tried his best towards the end while Woakes came out to bat showing great bravery but it was not to be.
Yes, England missed their talisman captain Ben Stokes as he was out injured. But that is not an excuse as the other players should have stepped up in the absence of their skipper. The bowling also lacked teeth without Stokes and Archer and that will be a concern going forward to Australia as the Aussies will expose the England weakness inside out. If Stokes is the best bowler for England or perceived to be, then England are in big trouble Down Under.
Dropped Catches Hurt England At The Oval
There is a saying that goes catches win matches and England were guilty of dropping a lot in the second innings of the Indian batting. India faced the wrath of dropped catches at Leeds and England suddenly had butter fingers at the Oval. Multiple catches were dropped of multiple players and that really benefitted India in getting to 396 in the second innings.
The centurion in the second innings, Yashasvi Jaiswal was dropped twice first by Harry Brook at slip cordon and then by Liam Dawson at deep fine leg. He made England pay by scoring a majestic match-defining century. Sai Sudharsan was also dropped but he did not make much of a contribution. Night watchman Akash Deep was dropped in the slip cordon and he made England pay by scoring 66 off 94 balls. Karun Nair was also dropped in the second innings where he scored only 17. There were 5-6 catches dropped by England.
Had all of those being taken, then India would not have made 396 and England would have had to chase a lesser target. England would definitely have won chasing a lower target but that was not to be. Fielding and taking catches are controllables. England needs to make sure that they do not repeat these mistakes as catching will be important in Australia. You do not want to give quality opposition players second lives as they will make the most of it and make you pay. India found that out at Leeds and England found it out at the Oval.
What Lies Ahead
The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy is done and dusted and after 5 gruelling Test matches the score finished at 2-2 which was fair given how these two teams have played in the series. Both England and India have a breather from Test Cricket for now. England players will get busy playing The Hundred that is kicking off on August 5th at Lord’s. In September, they have a white-ball series against South Africa at home.
For India, it is not yet confirmed but they might play Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in August although that is not confirmed. If this series does not happen, then India have whole August off and then play in September in T20 Asia Cup. India will play 2 Test matches in October against West Indies while England will play Ashes in Australia from November.
So, plenty to look forward to for both teams as the action and focus in England now for the month of August will shift to The Hundred.
Also Read: ENG vs IND: Harry Brook & Joe Root’s Centuries Light Up The Oval, Rain Halts Thrilling Run Chase