Chris Woakes takes four wickets as England skittle India for 191 before Joe Root falls amid fightback
Chris Woakes stars in first Test since August 2020 as England roll India for 191 on day one; Shardul Thakur's 31-ball half-century rallies tourists from 127-7 before hosts lose Rory Burns (5), Haseeb Hameed (0) and Joe Root (21) before stumps
Friday 3 September 2021 06:06, UK
Chris Woakes marked his first Test in over a year with 4-55 as England rolled India for 191 - only to then lose the in-form Joe Root for 21 as they closed an absorbing day one of the fourth Test at The Kia Oval on 53-3.
Woakes was named England's Player of the Summer for 2020 with his excellent form including 17 wickets in five Tests at an average below 21 - but a combination of injury, Covid quarantine and rotation meant the seamer had not played a red-ball international since.
The 32-year-old returned in style after replacing Sam Curran in the England XI, dismissing Rohit Sharma (11) with his sixth delivery, removing Ravindra Jadeja (10) and Rishabh Pant (9), and then ending a blistering knock from India No 8 Shardul Thakur (57 off 36), who smashed three sixes and seven fours to lift India from 127-7.
Thakur's 31-ball fifty was the fastest-ever in a Test in England, beating Sir Ian Botham's 32-ball effort against New Zealand, also at The Oval, in 1986.
Umesh Yadav - who had been at the other end as Thakur dominated an eighth-wicket stand of 63 from 48 balls - then picked up the prize scalp of England captain Root before stumps, bowling the new top-ranked Test batsman in the world between bat and pad with a beauty.
Jasprit Bumrah earlier accounted for openers Rory Burns (5) and Haseeb Hameed (0) to reduce England to 6-2 - the former dragging onto his stumps off an inside edge and the latter caught behind on the cut for a 12-ball duck - while Dawid Malan (26no) and nightwatchman Craig Overton (1no) ended the day at the crease, with the hosts trailing by 138.
India captain Virat Kohli (50) - dropped by Root off Woakes on 22 - was the only visiting batsman bar Thakur to pass 17 as his side followed a paltry first-innings score of 78 during their innings-and-76-run defeat in the third Test in Leeds with another lowly total, the away side rolled in 61.3 overs amid some patchy England catching,
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Ollie Robinson (3-38) was the man to claim Kohli's wicket as the batsman's sequence without a Test hundred extended to 20 innings, with his previous ton coming against Bangladesh in Kolkata in November 2019.
That will frustrate Kohli, as will the majority of his side's batting, but he will be buoyed by the fightback with the ball and especially the fact that Root, who has scored six Test centuries in 2021 and three in as many matches against India this summer, has been banished cheaply.
Root elected to bowl after winning the toss, which was understandable considering the clouds overhead and India's batting woes in Leeds - the tourists having been shot out in 40.4 overs in their first innings before losing eight second-innings wickets for 63 runs.
Rohit and KL Rahul (17) made a positive start but Woakes' introduction after eight overs brought about the first wicket as Rohit edged a back-of-a-length snorter behind to Jonny Bairstow.
India were 28-1 after nine overs and 28-2 after 14 when Robinson pinned Rahul lbw with a nip-backer during a seventh England maiden in a row.
Cheteshwar Pujara (4) stopped that becoming eight when he clipped Woakes through square leg for four - the England seamer conceding his first runs from the 19th delivery he bowled.
However, that proved Pujara's only scoring shot in 31 balls and he eventually clipped a fine James Anderson delivery that angled in and then nipped away through to Bairstow, who is keeping wicket with Jos Buttler missing the Test as he awaits the birth of his second child.
Woakes picked up a belated second wicket after lunch, having Jadeja, who had been promoted from No 7 to No 5 in the order, caught low by Root at first slip after watching his skipper drop Kohli in that spot two overs earlier.
The ball wobbled away late after Kohli edged Woakes and Root only got fingertips on it as he moved to his right, with the ball ultimately splitting Root and second slip fielder Burns.
India's usual No 5, Ajinkya Rahane, came in one slot lower at No 6 and was given out lbw to Woakes on one - only for the decision to be overturned on review with the delivery set to bounce marginally over the stumps.
Kohli was the next man to depart, then, failing to push on after carding a half-century for the second time in as many innings as he snicked Robinson behind - just as he had done on the fourth and final day in Leeds.
Rahane (14) was out shortly before tea, with Moeen Ali - England's vice-captain for this game in Buttler's absence - grasping an excellent catch low to his right at gully off the bowling of Overton.
Moeen then caught Pant at mid-off early in the final session off a Woakes slower ball - Woakes getting his man eventually after Overton had dropped the left-hander at slip earlier in the over.
Pant often supplies the batting fireworks but they materialised once he was out this time, with the recalled Thakur playing a pulsating knock as he cracked a memorable half-century.
Thakur tonked Woakes for five fours and a six, hit a four and a maximum off of Overton and completed his fifty by striking Robinson for four and six off successive deliveries, having been dropped by Bairstow on 43 earlier in the over.
It took a successful lbw review for Thakur's fun to end and the innings was over soon after - Bumrah (0) run out without facing a ball after running on a dropped Overton catch at slip, and Umesh (10) caught one-handed by Bairstow.
Seamers Umesh and Thakur had been drafted into the India side with niggles sidelining Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma, while, for England, Ollie Pope won the battle with Dan Lawrence for the batting spot left vacant by Buttler and is due to be next man in.
Watch day two of the fourth Test between England and India, from The Kia Oval, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 10.15am on Friday.
