India gets off to a good start against Eng,but Tongue has trouble

July 31, 2025: In the 5th Test between IND and ENG at The Oval, England’s bowlers, especially Josh Tongue, have had a hard time finding their rhythm early on. After England’s stand-in captain Ollie Pope won the toss and chose to bowl, hopes for quick breakthroughs were quickly dashed by Tongue’s erratic line and length. Michael Vaughan said on BBC Test Match Special that Tongue seemed to have “forgotten his radar” because his first overs let up an amazing 11 wides, often sending the ball a mile down the leg side and putting the English side under a lot of strain right away.

India’s innings got off to a bad start when Gus Atkinson got rid of Yashasvi Jaiswal for only 2 runs. Ollie Pope’s swift review gave Atkinson the wicket. But KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan have since settled in and are getting through the tough conditions. As the conditions got a little better, Sai Sudharsan also hit India’s maiden boundary, boldly hitting a ball beyond leg slip.

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Tongue was all over the place, but Gus Atkinson has given England a good start. Atkinson has kept up his superb control even though he hasn’t played much recently. This is his first Test of the series. His 4-over stint, which included 1 maiden, 3 runs, and 1 wicket, was a highlight for England’s new bowling attack, which is missing some crucial players like Ben Stokes.

Chris Woakes hasn’t found his usual rhythm yet, even though this pitch should be good for him. The damp pitch has made things even harder for England. Woakes was clearly upset after slipping while chasing. India is at 33/1 after 10 overs in the IND vs. ENG match. KL Rahul is on 13* and Sai Sudharsan is on 5*, and they want to take advantage of England’s early bowling problems and build a big total.