5th Test: England were inconsistent but India played well, says Ravi Shastri

London, July 31 (IANS) Former India head coach Ravi Shastri stated that England showed inconsistency, while the visitors’ performed admirably in the first session of the ongoing fifth Test at The Oval. Before rain forced an early lunch break to be taken, India were at 72/2 after 23 overs, with B Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill unbeaten on 25 and 15 respectively.

If there’s no further rain, day one's play will begin at 3pm local time, which translates to 7:30pm IST. "India will take 72-2. They played well towards the end of the session. I thought England were inconsistent, some loose deliveries on offer that were put away."

"It was a kind of track where you had to be accurate and patient, get the ball in the right areas, and let the pitch do the rest. Gill and Sudharsan play a lot of cricket with each other in the IPL. They ran well between the wickets and rotated the strike, so they will be pretty pleased with that," said Shastri on Sky Sports’ broadcast.

He also talked about how conditions at The Oval still have plenty to offer for bowlers. "One wicket can lead to another quickly here, there's no doubt about that. You will need your share of luck here, too, as a bowler."

"The reason I say patience is because you will beat the bat, but you've got to be consistent with your line and length, not try anything flash, because there is plenty on offer from this ground."

Former England cricketer Ian Ward feels Josh Tongue and Jamie Overton need to do more for getting desired accuracy with the ball. "One thing England will be saying in that dressing room, I would imagine, is they need to get their accuracy back."

"Atkinson was excellent, Woakes was good but they need more from Tongue and Overton. Overton needs to be able to stand up. He keeps slipping and sliding and dragging the ball down. But, given the conditions that are still prevalent, they can get four wickets quite quickly here."

--IANS

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