Live Cricket Score, England vs India Fifth Test Day 1: India Bundled Out for 148 in 1st Innings, Dhoni Stands Tall With Fighting 82
India have some mixed memories of the Kennington Oval in London. It was here that India beat England for the first and only time in 1971. In their last meeting in 2011, England thrashed India by an innings. Can MS Dhoni and his men change the script this time around? Catch all the live updates here.
For a national team in the dumps, what better occasion than the country's Independence Day for a big dose of inspiration? MS Dhoni & Co. will have to prove their mettle at the Kennington Oval over the next five days to salvage pride and square a series that England lead 2-1. Catch live cricket score and live updates of the game here: (LIVE SCORECARD)
22:46 (IST): Bhuvneshwar to Robson. Four! Nicely played! Fullish outside off, Robson drives it through the extra cover region for a boundary. England 25/0.
22:40 (IST): Bhuvaneshwar to Cook. Four! Full on the pads, Cook just times it sweetly through mid-wicket and finds the fence this time. That's his bread and butter. England 16/0.
22:33 (IST): Bhuvneshwar is slowly getting quicker than what he was at the start of his career. His fastest ball today though has been 131.9 kph while the slowest was around 123 kph. England 12/0.
22:23 (IST): Dhoni has scored the highest percentage of runs by an Indian captain (55.4) in a single inns today in his knock of 82. ENG 4/0 and 4.3 overs have been bowled so far by India.
22:13 (IST): Meanwhile, in the one-off Test match between India women and England women at Wormsley, India are 96/2 chasing a modest total of 181 to win. Great stuff by the girls there! Here at The Oval, England (3/0) are taking their time to settle down.
22:08 (IST): Cook flicks it down the leg side for single. Robson defends Bhuvneshwar nicely on the next ball. And then Robson too flicks Bhuvi away for a single. ENG 2/0.
22:00 (IST): The top order crumbled like a pack of cards and once again, Dhoni was left with all to do. But India's skipper didn't go down without a fight as he single-handedly made 82 out of 148. Ishant Sharma hung around like a leech but alas, it wasn't enough. India are staring down the barrel again. It was a combined effort from the bowlers and everyone was among the wickets apart from Moeen Ali. Stay tuned for the English innings in a short while.
21:56 (IST): Another shambolic display from the Indian batsmen as they danced to the swing of the seamers. The top order crumbled like a pack of cards and once again, Dhoni was left with all to do.
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21:52 (IST): Dhoni is caught down the deep for 82 off Broad & India are all out for 148 in the 1st innings.
21:43 (IST): Dhoni and Ishant have now put on 47 runs for the 10th wicket! India 137/9. Dhoni 74*.
21:37 (IST): Anderson to Dhoni! FOUR! Edged away! Fuller on the off and Dhoni tries to loft it over the cover region but gets an outside edge above the slips for a boundary. India 129/9.
21:23 (IST): Still India are in a very miserable position at the moment. They would bank on Dhoni to get as many runs from this position. England will be looking to take the final wicket as soon as possible. Join us in a while for the last session.
21:21 (IST): Indian middle order failed once again as they succumbed under pressure. England chipped in with wickets at regular intervals as they didn't let any batsman hang around for a long time. But they will be gutted as they couldn't pick the final wicket even after the session was extended. Dhoni is the only batsman who has showed some patience and Ishant has given him some good company.
21:10 (IST): India 125/9 at tea on Day 1. Dhoni (65*), Ishant (2*). England have now been victorious in over 22 sessions in this series. Very disappointing for India!
21:08 (IST): The wicket-taking bowler has now been brought in! Moeen Ali. India 124/9. Dhoni should be looking to attack him here. This could be the last over before tea. Dhoni (64*) taking all his time.
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21:02 (IST): Dhoni gets six! Jordan can't believe he has been hit for six! The 1st of the inns. Outside off, Dhoni lofts it hard over the long off region. India 124/9 now.
20:53 (IST): James Anderson is back into the attack and Dhoni welcomes him with a boundary. Smashed away! Fullish outside off, Dhoni drives it hard through the mid off region. The ball races to the fence in a flash. This is India's best partnership of the innings now. India 117/9. Dhoni 57*, Ishant 2*.
20:49 (IST): Captain cool Dhoni gets to his 33rd Test fifty with a four! India 113/9. Dhoni's fourth 50 in the series.
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20:46 (IST): MS Dhoni (49*) is playing with a lot of confidence despite all the batsmen crumbling around him. India 109/9. Ishant 2*.
20:42 (IST): Jordan to Dhoni. 3 runs! Short of a length ball on off, Dhoni pulls it through the mid-wicket region and takes three. India 103/9.
20:33 (IST): Dhoni brings up 100 for India with a boundary and moves on to 40. Outside off, Dhoni deliberately lofts it over the slip region. India (100/9) have avoided their lowest score at this venue. Dhoni the lone warrior now!
20:25 (IST): Four! Well played! Fullish outside off, Dhoni steers it through the backward point region for a boundary off Jordan. Dhoni has spent over 18 hours at the crease in this series. He is batting on 36 here with India 94/9.
20:20 (IST): Woakes to Aaron. OUT! In the air and taken! Short of a length ball around the off stump line, Aaron tries to work it to the leg side. But the ball lobs up in the air after getting a leading edge. Bounce did the trick there. Woakes himself calls for the catch and takes it easily. Third wicket for Chris Woakes too now. India 90/9!
20:16 (IST): England's slip fielding has been excellent today as rightly pointed out by commentator Alan Wilkins on TV. Very little has gone through their slip cordon today, he says. India, on the other hand, have been poor in their slip fielding during this series. IND 90/8. Dhoni 32*, Aaron 1*.
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20:08 (IST): England will be coming to India for a five-match Test series in a couple of years. Everyone in India will be looking forward to that. IND 83/8. Dhoni 26*, Aaron 0*.
20:02 (IST): India 83/8 now but this is far from being the lowest score got by India in a Test match vs any country. India were dismissed for 42 in the second innings of the Lord's Test match on 20 June 1974 against England, who won by an innings and 285 runs.
19:50 (IST): Jordan to Bhuvneshwar. OUT! Third wicket for Jordan! Poor shot! Fullish and wide outside off, Kumar goes at it unnecessarily. He only manages to edge it to the keeper behind who moves to his right and takes a good catch. Jordan struck in his first over today and now takes a wicket off his first ball of a brand new spell. That went off the toe end of the bat to Buttler behind who dived to his right. India 79/8.
19:46 (IST): Woakes to Dhoni! FOUR! Driven away! Fuller outside off, Dhoni drives it beautifully through the cover region for a boundary. India 77/7.
19:41 (IST): Broad to Bhuvneshwar! FOUR! Short again but this time outside off and Kumar has guided it above the slip region for a boundary. Nice thinking. India 73/7.
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19:37 (IST): Woakes to Ashwin. OUT! Edged and gone! Good length ball outside off and seaming away, Ashwin tries to push it to the off side but gets an outside edge. Root at third slip dives ahead and takes a wonderful catch. The on-field umpires go up to check whether its carried or not. Replay shows its clean. India 68/7.
19:33 (IST): The lights are on, there has been a lot of rain and the forecast for days to come isn't great. India 68/6. Strong winds blowing at The Oval too!
19:22 (IST): In the 1952 Oval Test match that India drew, they lost six wickets for 64 runs after being 6/5. Today India were reduced to 44/6 at one stage. 61/6 now with Dhoni batting on 16 and Ashwin on 7.
19:13 (IST): Dhoni and Ashwin not allowing the pressure to build. There have been three boundaries scored since that Binny dismissal, two coming from Dhoni's bat! India move to 56/6.
19:07 (IST): OUT! Anderson to Binny. Edged and gone this time! Smart bowling from Anderson. He was bowling inswingers followed by outswingers and the batsmen were hardly able to connect their bat on ball. On this occasion bowls a touch fullish length around the off stump channel. Binny tries to defend but just manages an outside edge. The ball goes straight to Cook at first slip who makes no mistake. India 44/6 now. Ravichandran Ashwin comes out to bat now. He has a Test average of 41!
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18:56 (IST): Soon after this Test series, India will be involved in a five-match ODI series vs England. Do you think the Indian team will be able to put up a better performance there? Broad may not be in that series after the nose blow he had taken in the last match while facing Aaron. Mike Atherton says he would certainly include Alex Hales for the ODIs. The grey clouds are slowly making their way out of the sky at The Oval. India 44/5 now. Dhoni 6*, Binny 5*.
18:52 (IST): Stats time: Virat Kohli has produced his worst performance in a Test series - his tally being 114 in nine innings at an average of 12.66. India still 43/5.
18:48 (IST): Is James Anderson England's best ever bowler? As commentators Harsha Bhogle and Mike Atherton debate the fact on TV, here's how Cook hailed his bowling hero ahead of the match last night. India 43/5. Anderson going strong as ever.
18:45 (IST): Before the end of lunch, there was a slight drizzle at The Oval and the covers were on. Things looking better as of now though. India 43/5. Broad gives away nothing in the first over after lunch.
18:40 (IST): Dhoni and Binny walking out to the field once again as play set to resume after lunch. India 43/5. Here's what happened today in another Test match being played in the subcontinent between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It happens to be Mahela Jayawardene's last Test match.
18:08 (IST): What a session for England! They won the toss and opted to bowl under overcast conditions. The Indian batsmen couldn't hang around as wickets kept falling. They lost five wickets in this session as each of the English bowlers picked up a wicket at least. Gambhir went for a golden duck and then others followed him soon. Vijay showed some patience but couldn't do much as well. Dhoni and Binny are batting at the moment. Join us back for the second session!
18:02 (IST): India 43/5 as lunch has been taken. The first session clearly belongs to England.
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17:57 (IST): This is only the third time MS Dhoni is batting in the first session on Day 1 of a Test match. India 43/5. Dhoni 6*, Binny 4*.
17:53 (IST): Jordan to Binny. 3 runs. Nice shot! Good length ball outside off, Binny drives superbly through the cover region. The ball slows down near the boundary. Three runs taken. India 42/5.
17:44 (IST): The whole Indian team has shown a vulnerability while facing balls on the off-side in this series, says commentator Atherton on TV. India in a precarious position at 39/5.
17:36 (IST): Stuart Binny is the next man in. Although India are in a disastrous situation, Binny should see this as an opportunity to impress the selectors. India 36/5.
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17:34 (IST): Woakes to Vijay! OUT! Another one bites the dust! Good length ball outside off, Vijay gets onto his front foot and tries to play. But he gets an outside edge and the ball goes to Root at fourth slip. Excellent effort there to collect the ball as it was low. He was fielding with his helmet on in that region. India in tatters! India 36/5.
17:24 (IST): Woakes to Dhoni! Four! Edged and safe! Good length ball outside off, Dhoni tries to push but gets an outside edge. The ball goes through the slip region and races away to the boundary rope. India 33/4.
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17:18 (IST): OUT! Rahane is out now for a golden duck, caught and bowled by Jordan! Good length ball around off, Rahane gets onto his front foot and tries to push. He pushes it straight back to the bowler where Jordan moves to his right and takes a good catch. India 28/4. This is India's 14th duck in the series and England have got just three ducks on the other hand, all via Stokes! It's Rahane's maiden Test duck though.
17:11 (IST): Kohli only faced 18 deliveries for his 6 runs and there was another close shout during his dismissal. However, moving on, Rahane is at the crease now and he has been the best batsman for India on this tour by far, along with Vijay, who has the most runs amongst Indian batsmen on the English tour as of now. India 28/3. By the way, Kohli's Test average has also dropped below 40 now.
17:04 (IST): OUT! Kohli is gone for 6, trapped LBW by Jordan! Kohli's horrible form continues! Good length ball outside off, shapes in a touch after landing. Kohli offers no stroke once again and the ball brushes off the pads. Huge, huge appeal for a leg before wicket and the umpire Dharmasena takes a lot of time to signal it out. India 26/3.
17:00 (IST): Chris Jordan into the attack. Broad is off the field. The substitute fielder comes in. India 26/2.
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16:56 (IST): Anderson to Kohli. FOUR! First boundary off the bat today! Fullish outside off, Kohli drives superbly through the mid off region. No chance for the fielder to stop that one. Awesome timing! India 25/2.
16:54 (IST): The sun is now starting to come through and this will be good news for India. Kohli and Vijay now look just a little bit more solid there. India 21/2.
16:49 (IST): Virat Kohli has faced 30 balls with James Anderson bowling in this series. He has been dismissed four times by Anderson. India 21/2 as of now. Things looking a little better.
16:39 (IST): James Anderson and Stuart Broad are on fire right now. There are a lot of LBW shouts happening every now and then and India would now look to Vijay and Kohli to build a solid partnership. India 12/2 and in a lot of trouble. There is movement in the air and movement off the seam as well.
16:29 (IST): OUT! Pujara is clean bowled! Broad does the trick again! Good length delivery around the off stump channel at 136 kph, nips back in sharply after landing. Pujara tries to defend with soft hands as he it not sure where the ball would swing. This one comes in and brushes off his thigh pads and then onto his stumps. Superb delivery. Broad bowled in that channel on couple of occasions today and Pujara was hit on the thigh pad. This time the ball goes towards his stumps. India in early trouble once again! India 10/2. Virat Kohli walks out to bat now.
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16:20 (IST): The problem with India is that they haven't played enough balls close to their body, says Ganguly. The first session will be crucial for India according to him. India 7/1 after 4 overs of play.
16:12 (IST): Anderson to Pujara! Outside off, Pujara drives it through covers for a single. India 4/1 now.
16:04 (IST): Oh dear! Gambhir is out for duck! Gambhir in two minds, he decides to let it go through at the last moment. He is a bit late in doing so as the ball goes off the outside edge to the keeper behind. Huge appeal and the umpire has no hesitation in raising his finger. That was an awkward leave by the Indian opener anyway. India 3/1.
16:03 (IST): Anderson to Vijay. 3 runs! Fullish outside off, Vijay drives superbly through the cover region and beats the fielder. Jordan chases the ball as it slows down near the boundary rope. The outfield is pretty slow and the batsmen take three runs.
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15:57 (IST): Only a few minutes before the grand finale at The Oval begins. Can India bounce back and square the series? Get ready for a great game of cricket!
15:54 (IST): Right here in the subcontinent, Sri Lanka are playing Pakistan in the second and last Test match of the series and it happens to be Mahela Jayawardene's last Test match. You can track all the live updates from that game here.
15:48 (IST): England Playing XI: Cook (cap), Robson, Ballance, Bell, Root, Moeen, Buttler, Woakes, Broad, Jordan, Anderson.
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15:46 (IST): India Playing XI: Vijay, Gambhir, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Dhoni (cap), Binny, Ashwin, Kumar, Ishant, Aaron.
15:42 (IST): Dhoni says he is confident that the Indian batsmen will put up a better show in the match and says he would have decided to bowl first too. The decision to bring Ishant back is justified, he says, because he has the most experience among the current Indian bowlers on the English tour.
15:40 (IST): England captain Alastair Cook is of the opinion that rain over the last 24 hours at The Oval might help the bowlers and this was his reason to elect to field first.
15:37 (IST): Ishant Sharma comes back into the Indian side in place of Pankaj Singh while Stuart Binny is in for Ravindra Jadeja. England unchanged. Stuart Broad fit to play and is in the playing eleven.
15:34 (IST): England win toss and elect to bowl first vs India at The Oval.
15:31 (IST): Mahendra Singh Dhoni will become the most-capped India captain against England today.
15:23 (IST): The toss will now take place at 3:30 pm IST while play is due to start at 4:00 pm.
15:18 (IST): India have won 1, lost 3 and drawn 7 out of 11 Test matches played at The Oval.
15:16 (IST): Varun Aaron was the only positive India could have taken from the last match and would be the bowler to look out for at the Oval.
15:12 (IST): Moeen Ali has got 19 wickets because India have treated him as a part-time spinner: Ravi Shastri.
15:10 (IST): England sit pretty with an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series and are surely the favorites going into the match. In complete contrast to India, all English batsmen seem to have found form. Bell, Cook, Ballance, Root, you name it. Jimmy Anderson, free from the threat of a ban hanging over his head, is bowling beautifully. Even the off spin of Moeen Ali is looking unplayable at times. All in all, this is a team with a new found confidence and will be hard to beat. An uphill task awaits India in their quest to level the series and it would require a special team effort to turn the tide.
15:07 (IST): It's not raining anymore but the pitch has to be mopped fully before toss. A 15-min delayed start at best.
15:04 (IST): India have to go with a positive mindset and play five bowlers to have enough variety: Ravi Shastri.
14:58 (IST): There will be a delayed start due to rain and an inspection has been scheduled at 3:15 pm IST.
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Dhoni says a process is more important than result. As India rebuild their Test squad in the post-Sachin Tendulkar-Rahul Dravid-VVS Laxman-Virender Sehwag era, Dhoni's ideology will strike the right notes only if he and his teammates show the right approach and skillset necessary to handle quality teams.
Losing wickets in heaps, dropping important catches and the sheer inability to outthink the opposition is definitely no sign of Dhoni's "process." The captain himself has been tentative and Dhoni's decisions slammed by the game's pundits. Hasn't Dhoni been long in the system to set his own "process" in order?
There is only one reason for India's predicament thus far: poor overall cricket. After the resounding win at Lord's, India let England come back with emphatic victories in Southampton and Manchester. The innings defeat at Old Trafford in less than three days was shattering. The ICC's refusal to prolong the Ravindra Jadeja-James Anderson Trent Bridge spat added insult to injury.
"The odds are stacked against India. So Oval will be a test of character especially for the likes of Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay. They all have to punch above their weight to stop an English side that has all the momentum."
"Kohli's run of eight innings without a fifty since his unbeaten hundred against New Zealand in Wellington is the worst run in his 28-Test career. The Indian vice-captain was at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. It remains to be seen if the visit to the former EPL champions Chelsea's home brings him luck with the bat.
India are sure to make a few changes. Ishant Sharma's return should boost the team but the onus will be on the batsmen to give the bowlers a good total to defend. Dhoni has insisted on five specialist bowlers. Three pacers and two spinners look the ideal combination but Jadeja's performance will the ball has been poor so far. But the captain loves him and Jadeja could still make the cut.
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"Oval should be a good track to bat but will also assist the home team pacers. Anderson is on the cusp of personal history. He needs eight wickets to overtake Ian Botham's England record of 383 Test victims. He already has 21 wickets in the series. And then there is Moeen Ali. He could become the most successful England spinner in a Test series against India.
From what England's captain Alastair Cook described as "rock bottom" less than three weeks ago, his team are suddenly flying high. It is a remarkable transformation, above all for Cook himself, who faced widespread calls for his resignation when England lost the second test at Lord's last month. That was their 10th match without a victory, stretching back to almost a year.
In the third Test at Southampton, however, Cook finally ended his dismal spell with the bat, scoring 95 and 70 not out as a rampant England won by 266 runs. Carrying the new-found self-belief to Manchester, they won in even more convincing fashion by an innings and 54 runs with two full days to spare. That gave them extra time to rest before the Oval contest, for which paceman Stuart Broad hopes to be fit despite having broken his nose while batting on Saturday.
Confidence is understandably high, in stark contrast to India, whose batsmen have flopped in spectacular fashion since their win at Lord's -- a result which ended their three-year run without an away success.