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LONDON: India and England players paid a heartwarming tribute to the late English player Graham Thorpe on day two of the fifth Test at the Oval on Friday.
Thorpe, who represented England in 100 Tests and 82 ODIs, took his own life on August 4, 2024, after a recurring struggle with anxiety and depression.
Graham Thorpe amassed over 6,700 Test runs for England and almost 22,000 across all first-class cricket.
Consequently, day two of the final India Test is celebrated as ‘Day for Thorpey’.
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In a heartfelt tribute to the late Graham Thorpe, headbands were sold to raise money for mental health charity Mind. The tribute was presented at a venue which he called home while playing for Surrey from 1988 to 2005.
The England players wore headbands in his memory, as he famously wore one during his career.
India is batting in its second essay and is leading by 32 runs with Sai Sudharsan and Yashaswi Jaiswal on the crease.
Earlier, India bundled out England for 247-9 runs with Harry Brook top scoring with 53 off 64 balls. Chris Woakes was unable to bat due to a shoulder injury sustained on the opening day, which ruled him out of the rest of the match.
For India, Mohammad Siraj and Prasidh Krishna took four wickets each on a pitch favourable for seam bowlers.
England lost their way in pursuit of India’s first innings total of 224 runs despite having a solid opening partnership of 92 runs.
Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett added 92 runs for the first wicket in just 12.5 overs. With this stand, the opening pair surpassed Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss to record the most runs as a pair against India.
However, Akash Deep ended the brisk opening stand with Ben Duckett, who fell after making 42 off 38 balls with the aid of two maximums and five fours.
Following the wicket, India sensed an opening and struck at regular intervals to put breaks on England’s charge, eventually the home side finishing 29 runs ahead of India’s total.
READ: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley break England’s longstanding record against India
