India reached 204/6 on Day 1 (Thursday, July 31) of the fifth and final Test match against England at The Oval after batting first. The visiting batters had a hard time because the ball was moving around a lot.
The hosts put the visitors on the defensive and dismissed openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (2) and KL Rahul (14) early. Shubman Gill (21) and Sai Sudharsan (38) both started but were unable to bat for very long. Dhruv Jurel (19) and Ravindra Jadeja (9) also lost wickets quickly.
Nonetheless, Karun Nair and Washington Sundar led their resurgence and ensured that there were no further glitches as they kept up their unbeaten 51-run stand. The fifty-year career of Karun was meaningful to this game and his career. The right-hander was unbeaten on 52 off 98 run with seven boundaries to his name.
These are some of the records and milestones made by the visitors as they ended the day in a high note despite their score losing wickets.
1. Indian Bowlers Who Played All 5 Tests in Three Overseas Series and Took 10+ Wickets Each Time
Mohammed Siraj, a pacer, became just the third player from the nation to appear in all five Test matches of an international series three times and take ten or more wickets each time. He was added to this exclusive list alongside legends Vinoo Mankad and Kapil Dev.
After being included in India’s playing eleven on Day 1 of the current fifth Test, Siraj reached the milestone. During the 2021 England trip, he participated in all five games and claimed 18 wickets.
He then participated in all five of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy games in Australia in 2024–25, taking 20 wickets. He has played in all five of the current series’ games and claimed 14 wickets.
2. Most runs scored by India in a Test series
India has now amassed 3391 runs overall in the current Test series as of the conclusion of play on Day 1. Interestingly, this is the highest number of runs the nation has ever scored in a Test series.
3270 runs during the 1978–79 home series against the West Indies was the previous high. They had amassed 3230 runs in five games during their home series against England in 2016–17.
The hosts scored 3140 runs during the previous Test series England visited the nation, which took place in 2024. The Indian squad scored 3119 runs in the series during England’s 1963–64 visit.
3. Most runs by an Indian Test captain in a series
Shubman On the first day of the ongoing fifth Test, Gill did not have a particularly good batting performance. But as he has done throughout the series, he kept breaking records. The Indian skipper with the most runs in a Test series is currently Gill.
The right-hander has 743 runs in nine innings, an average of 82.55, and four hundreds, including a double hundred. He shattered the mark held by the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.
In 1978–79, Gavaskar had amassed 732 runs from six games against the West Indies. Former captain Virat Kohli, who scored 655 runs against England at home in 2016–17, had already been eclipsed by Gill.
