Blow for England as key player ruled out of remainder of final India Test

LONDON: England key pacer Chris Woakes has been ruled out of the fifth Test against India after suffering a shoulder dislocation during the opening day of the match at the Oval.

The 36-year-old injured himself in an attempt to stop a boundary on Thursday, resulting in an awkward landing. After his attempt, he looked in utter discomfort and left the field.

Chris Woakes’ injury was assessed overnight and before the start of play on day two. After his assessment, England confirmed that he will not feature in the remainder of the Test match.

The injury has further put the England team in deep trouble after they decided to put a fresh bowling attack in a bid to win the series.

The inexperienced attack comprising Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue, and Jamie Overton was led by Chris Woakes in the final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy.

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However, Gus Atkinson stood up with a five-wicket haul, helping England bundle out India for a modest 224-run total.

Karun Nair top-scored for India with 57 off 109 balls, ending a 3149-day wait for his half-century in the format after scoring a mammoth triple century against the same team.

For England, Gus Atkinson starred with the ball, bowling a fiery spell, taking five wickets for just 33 runs in 21.4 overs.

At the time of filing this story, England were 109-1 in only 16 overs at Lunch, with Zak Crawley (52) and captain Ollie Pope (12) unbeaten on the crease.

Earlier, England’s openers forged a belligerent opening stand, scoring 92 runs in only 12.5 overs. Ben Duckett remained the core aggressor, who made 43 from 38 balls with the aid of two sixes and five fours.

For India, Akash Deep picked up one wicket in seven overs and gave away 46 runs.

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