Gus Atkinson made an instant impact on his England return but the first day of the Rothesay Series decider against India was blighted by rain.
Atkinson injured his hamstring against Zimbabwe in May and has since been restricted to a one-off club appearance for Spencer CC and an outing for Surrey’s 2nd XI, but he was England’s liveliest performer as India reached 85 for three on day one at the Kia Oval.
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He took the new ball in a revamped attack missing the injured Ben Stokes and rested duo Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse, promptly dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal lbw in a threatening opening spell.
The ever-present Chris Woakes added the wicket of KL Rahul when the opener slashed an inside edge into his own stumps but wayward spells from the returning Josh Tongue and Jamie Overton undermined English efforts in inviting conditions.
With heavy cloud cover, floodlights in action early on and good carry from a green-tinged pitch, the pair’s failure to hit a consistent line or length allowed the tourists to wriggle off the hook as they reached 72 for two at lunch.
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The interval came eight minutes early due to showers and the elements continued to win out, with the players finally re-emerging at 3pm only to be forced off again after just under half-an-hour.
KL Rahul was bowled by Chris Woakes early on (Ben Whitley/PA)
But that slim window was all Atkinson needed to make his presence felt again. He was bowling to India’s emphatically in-form skipper Shubman Gill when a ridiculous attempt to steal a single came out of the blue.
Sai Sudharsan (28no) refused to be the sacrificial lamb, sending Gill back and inviting Atkinson to pick and throw at the stumps. As Gill turned, the England quick was more than up to the challenge, running him out by a comfortable distance with a clinical piece of ground fielding.
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For Gill it was a horrible self-inflicted wound, leaving him on 743 runs for the series – 31 short of Sunil Gavaskar’s Indian record with one more innings to play.
Shubman Gill looks dejected after being run out (Ben Whitley/PA)
Another weather interruption followed, with England now narrowly in front of the game despite an occasionally wasteful effort with the ball.
Ollie Pope, standing in for Stokes, kept up the home side’s 100 per cent record at the toss and made the simple decision to bowl first in helpful conditions.
But while Atkinson proved reliable on his return, taking one for 13 in nine disciplined overs, Tongue and Overton disappointed.
Both were guilty of losing their radar, Tongue conceding 11 in wides as two stray deliveries slid to the fine leg boundary and Overton unable to build pressure with some inconsistent lines.
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