LONDON: Recalled fast bowlers Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue did the damage as India struggled to 204-6 at stumps on Thursday’s opening day of their series decider against England at the Oval.
Atkinson took 2-31 in 19 overs on his Surrey home ground and also ran out India captain Shubman Gill.
The repeatedly wayward Tongue produced two superb deliveries on his way to 2-47 in 13 overs in a match India must win to tie the five-Test series 2-2.
The returning Karun Nair, dropped after India’s defeat in the third Test at Lord’s, top-scored with 52 not out.
Washington Sundar, fresh from a maiden Test hundred in the drawn fourth Test at Old Trafford, was unbeaten on 19.
“It was a good day,” Atkinson told the BBC. “There was pressure on the bowling side with the (helpful) conditions that were overhead. We didn’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.”
It was no surprise when Ollie Pope, leading England in place of injured skipper Ben Stokes, elected to bowl in overcast conditions on a green-tinged pitch after winning the toss.
Atkinson, one of four changes to the England team, soon had left-hander Yashasvi Jaiswal lbw for two on review.
Veteran seamer Chris Woakes then had Jaiswal’s opening partner KL Rahul, who has scored more than 500 runs the series, playing on for 14, trying to cut a ball that was too close to him.
Rahul’s exit brought Gill, who has already scored four hundreds in a prolific debut campaign as captain, to the crease, with India struggling on 38-2.
The skipper needed just 53 more runs to overhaul Sunil Gavaskar’s mark for the most runs scored by an India batsman in a Test series of 774 — set by the “Little Master” against the West Indies in 1971.
But on 21 he set off for a single that was never on with Atkinson, following through, throwing down the stumps. Gill, halfway down the pitch, slipped as he tried to turn back to safety.
India were 85-3 when rain stopped play for a second time.
Not long after play resumed, Sai Sudharsan, who worked hard for his 38 off 108 balls, was undone by a late-moving Tongue delivery from around the wicket as he edged to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, one of four Surrey players in the team.
Ravindra Jadeja had proved a thorn in England’s side with a defiant hundred in the fourth Test at Old Trafford.
But one ball after upper-cutting Tongue for a boundary, he fell for just nine, in similar fashion to Sudharsan, as he edged an excellent ball to Smith.
Dhruv Jurel, in for injured wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, was caught at second slip by Harry Brook off the bowling of local hero Atkinson for 19 as India slumped to 153-6.
There was a worrying moment for England late on when Woakes left the field after suffering a shoulder injury while diving in a desperate attempt to save a boundary — an injury that threatens to rule him out of the rest of the match.
“It doesn’t look great. I will be surprised if he takes any further part in the game,” said Atkinson.
An England spokesman said Woakes would be assessed overnight, with a further update on his fitness due Friday.
A schedule of five Tests in less than seven weeks has taken its toll, with India also making four changes to their team as paceman Jasprit Bumrah, who hurt his back earlier this year, was left out.
Team bosses had previously announced Bumrah, the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, would only feature in three games during the current series — a figure he reached in Manchester.
