Who: England vs India
What: Fifth and last Check of India tour
The place: The Oval in London, United Kingdom
When: Thursday, July 31
England and India head to the Oval for the decisive fifth and last Check of a hard-fought marketing campaign on Thursday, with each groups battling psychological and bodily fatigue.
A congested schedule of 5 Checks in lower than seven weeks has proved gruelling, particularly for the quick bowlers from each groups, with each match going the gap up to now.
The collection has taken its toll on various gamers, together with crucially England captain, Ben Stokes, who has been dominated out of the match.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a take a look at a Check that has lots effervescent over each on and off the sphere.
What’s at stake within the last Check of India’s tour of England?
Remarkably, India can nonetheless finish the collection all sq. at 2-2 after salvaging an unlikely draw within the fourth Check at Outdated Trafford.
The vacationers stored the hosts on the sphere for 143 overs of their second innings, regardless of the draw being inevitable in the long run, as Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar secured centuries.
Why has the England-India collection been so tense?
Tensions spiked on the finish of the fourth Check when India allowed Jadeja and Sundar to finish their centuries after England captain Ben Stokes supplied to shake arms on a draw.
There was additionally a finger-pointing incident throughout the third Check at Lord’s in London, when England opener Zak Crawley irked the Indians, who believed he was time-wasting on the finish of the third day.
Crawley and opening accomplice Ben Duckett had a difficult two-over spell to navigate earlier than stumps, however the former stood away from his crease on fourth events within the opening over earlier than Jasprit Bumbrah may bowl.
The Kent batter additionally known as for the physio, leading to just one over being bowled earlier than the shut and India captain Shubman Gill confronting Crawley about his actions.
What occurred between Gambhir and the Surrey groundsman on the Oval?
As if the collection wasn’t already enduring heightened feelings, India coach Gautim Gambhir was embroiled in an incident with the pinnacle groundsman on the Oval.
Video footage confirmed Gambhir in a confrontation with Lee Fortis, Surrey County Cricket Membership’s lead curator on the Oval in south London.
Fortis was understood to have been retaining a protecting eye on the sq. throughout India’s coaching session.
Gambhir, a 58-Check veteran, was seen wagging his finger as Fortis seemed on, stating, “You possibly can’t inform us what to do” and “You don’t inform any of us what to do.”
Gambhir may be heard including, “You’re simply the groundsman, nothing past.”
After strolling away in dialog with India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, who appeared to tackle the function of mediator, Fortis informed Gambhir he could also be pressured to lodge a criticism in opposition to him, drawing a response of, “You possibly can go and report back to whoever you need.”
Kotak later informed reporters that Fortis’s objections to a cooler being wheeled onto the sq. kicked off the spat.
“He was sitting on the curler, he shouted and informed the assist workers to not take it there,” Kotak mentioned. “It’s good to be just a little possessive, and it is usually good to be protecting, however not that a lot. Gautam simply mentioned, ‘Don’t discuss to the assist workers like this.’”
Kotak added, “On the finish of the day, it’s a cricket pitch. It isn’t an vintage the place you possibly can’t contact.”
Gill added, “What occurred yesterday, I assumed, is simply completely pointless. I imply, it’s not the primary time that we have been taking a look on the wicket.”
How has Gill been rated as India captain?
Captaincy seems to be doing wonders for the profession of beforehand inconsistent India batsman Shubman Gill.
The elegant 25-year-old scored his fourth century of a rare debut collection as skipper at Outdated Trafford.
He got here in with the vacationers in dire straits at 0-2 of their second innings, responding with a marathon 103 in 238 balls that laid the foundations for an important escape.
Gill has set a brand new document for probably the most runs scored by an India batsman in a collection in opposition to England of 722, surpassing teammate Yashasvi Jaiswal’s tally of 712 in 2023/24.
On the Oval, he may eclipse Sunil Gavaskar’s all-time India collection document of 774 runs, set in a four-match marketing campaign in opposition to the West Indies in 1971.
England crew information
England captain Stokes has been dominated out of the Check with a proper shoulder harm.
Ollie Pope, who bats at three, will substitute Stokes as skipper, the England and Wales Cricket Board mentioned on Wednesday.
Stokes mentioned he expects to be sidelined for as much as seven weeks, which ought to on no account impression his participation on this winter’s Ashes collection in Australia. However he felt it was clearly too dangerous enjoying another Check in opposition to India.
“It’s a kind of of weighing up the risk-reward, and the danger was approach too excessive for damaging this any additional than it presently is,” he mentioned. “I wouldn’t anticipate to place any of my gamers in danger with an harm like this. As soon as this collection is finished, I used to be toes up anyway [so] it doesn’t actually make an excessive amount of distinction to what I’ve obtained from the top of the collection up till the winter.”
England should additionally determine whether or not to threat categorical paceman Jofra Archer, who has bowled practically 90 overs in two Checks after greater than 4 years of injury-enforced exile.
The house crew took simply 4 wickets on a flat Outdated Trafford pitch throughout India’s battling second innings, with seamer Brydon Carse additionally labored arduous.
Jamie Overton has been added to an England squad that already has further tempo choices in Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson.
India crew information
India will probably be with out vice-captain and prolific runscorer Rishabh Pant, who sustained a foot fracture in Manchester.
Jasprit Bumrah’s again harm earlier this yr prompted India to announce the quick bowler would solely characteristic in three video games throughout the present collection.
The world’s top-ranked Check bowler made his third look on a docile pitch in Manchester and has little time to get well after bowling a gruelling 33 overs, throughout which he took two wickets.
However India coach Gautam Gambhir says all of his squad’s quicks are match for the finale, together with Akash Deep, who took 10 wickets in Bumrah’s absence throughout India’s 336-run win within the second Check at Edgbaston earlier than struggling a groin harm within the subsequent match at Lord’s.
The Oval curator breaks silence!
• Lee Fortis, The Oval’s chief curator, speaks out
• Opens up on fiery trade with Gautam Gambhir
• What triggered the confrontation?Reviews 📽️ @Sahil_Malhotra1 🏏
Full protection 👇https://t.co/hQdu24zKye#GautamGambhir #INDvsENG… pic.twitter.com/Nltx1tvmk9
— TOI Sports activities (@toisports) July 29, 2025