London, Aug 2 (NationPress) On a day when 15 wickets fell, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s unbeaten 51 ensured India reached 75/2 in 18 overs, taking a lead of 52 runs against England as stumps were called earlier than expected due to bad light on Day Two of the fifth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval on Friday.

In the morning, England concluded India’s first innings at 224, before being bowled out for 247, thus gaining a 23-run lead. An entertaining 92-run opening stand off only 12.4 overs put England at 109/1 at lunch, creating an impression that they would build a significant lead.

However, from the post-lunch session, Mohammed Siraj claimed crucial wickets with his nip-backers and yorkers, achieving figures of 4-86 to become the leading wicket-taker of the series. Prasidh Krishna also troubled the batters with irregular bounce and lateral movement, taking 4-62.

For England, Zak Crawley and Harry Brook both made half-centuries, with Crawley top-scoring at 64 and Brook contributing 53 to give England a slim lead. Despite dismissing KL Rahul and B Sai Sudharsan, England would lament their three dropped catches, including one of Jaiswal, who notched his 13th Test fifty.

India’s second innings commenced with Jaiswal playing confidently, hitting five boundaries – four off Gus Atkinson. He was given a lifeline on 20 when Harry Brook dropped an edge off Atkinson at second slip, allowing the ball to race to the boundary.

Jaiswal then hit a six off Jamie Overton and followed it with another boundary off Josh Tongue. However, Rahul fell to a catch from Joe Root after edging to first slip.

Jaiswal had more luck when, on 40, substitute fielder Liam Dawson missed a straightforward catch at long leg. England's troubles continued when Crawley dropped Sudharsan’s catch at third slip. Jaiswal reached his fifty off 44 balls with an impressive upper-cut six over the slip cordon off Atkinson.

Atkinson struck back 20 minutes before stumps, trapping Sudharsan lbw for 11. The left-hander opted for a review, but it was unsuccessful as replays confirmed the ball was on target. Jaiswal and nightwatchman Akash Deep ensured India faced no further losses, setting the stage for an exciting continuation of Test cricket.

Atkinson began the final session by hitting boundaries off both Siraj and Prasidh. Yet, on the fifth ball of the 47th over, he mis-timed a pull shot, leading to a simple catch and marking Prasidh’s fourth wicket.

Brook then swept Siraj for six in a manner reminiscent of Rishabh Pant, before rain halted play for 40 minutes. Upon resumption, Brook reached his 13th Test fifty off 57 balls.

Ultimately, Siraj concluded with four wickets when Brook attempted a clip, only to see his stumps dislodged. With no Chris Woakes available for batting, England's innings came to a close at 247, marking their lowest total of the series.

Brief scores:

India 224 and 75/2 in 18 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 51 not out; Josh Tongue 1-25) lead England 247 all out in 51.2 overs (Zak Crawley 64, Harry Brook 53; Prasidh Krishna 4-62, Mohammed Siraj 4-86) by 52 runs