Credit: BCCI/X
The Indian cricket team is ready to take on England at The Oval in London tomorrow in the fifth Test of the five-match series. India showed great resilience and grit in the fourth Test as they stayed calm and held their nerves after giving away two wickets for zero runs at the start of the second innings. The incredible partnership from KL Rahul and Shubman Gill set the tone for the Indian cricket team, paving the way to make a comeback, and following which, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar played till the end to earn a draw for their side.
However, ahead of the fifth Test, the Indian head coach, Gautam Gambhir, was not allowed to inspect The Oval pitch by the English pitch curator Lee Fortis. Shubman Gill, the Indian captain, was left frustrated by the action of the pitch curator to ask the Indian support staff to inspect the pitch from a distance. He stated that this was not the first time they were looking at the wicket on their tour to England, they have been there for almost two months.
I don't know what the fuss was about: Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill made his views clear by saying that a coach has every right to view the pitch from nearby and that he did not understand why the pitch curator was not allowing them to take a look at the pitch. He said, "As long as I remember, we had never got any instructions. As long as you are wearing rubber spikes or barefoot you can see the wicket from near. We have played four matches already in this series, and nobody stopped us from watching the pitch. All of us have played so much cricket, we have gone to the pitches so many times, including the coaches and captain, I don't know what the fuss was about."
India are looking to go all in to emerge victorious in the fifth test to minimise the pain of the wound caused by England leading the series 2-1 currently. The key bowler of Indian cricket team, Jasprit Bumrah, is reportedly set to miss the final Test, which could prove costly for India. However, India will look to play the match unfazed, especially after learning about England missing their big guns like captain Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer due to various reasons .
