England vs India, 5th Test Day 1: 5 Talking Points

At the conclusion of the opening day of the fifth and final Test, it is India who are on top after reducing England to 198 for 7 in a painstakingly slow day at The Oval.

Opting to bat first, England adopted an over-cautious approach in their batting, with Alastair Cook and Moeen Ali biding their time away against some disciplined and sustained Indian bowling who never let them get away with easy runs at any point.

At 133 for 1 it seemed like both were in for the long haul, but then Cook dragged one on and the downfall began as India roared their way back to take the honors on the opening day.

Here are the talking points:

Was picking Vihari over Nair the right decision?

Was Vihari the right replacement for Pandya?

As has been the case in recent times, there have been certain selections from Virat Kohli which have left a lot to be desired. There was an addition to that on Friday when India handed Hanuma Vihari a debut ahead of Karun Nair, who was picked in the first squad for the initial three matches and then was retained for the final two matches of the series.

Social media was extremely considerate towards the Karnataka batsman and former India batsman Sunil Gavaskar stated that Nair had every reason to ask the management why he didn't get an opportunity earlier.

"Karun Nair has every right to ask the team management why he is not in the team. He deserves an answer. You didn't pick an extra specialist batsman earlier, but now that you have, Karun Nair deserves an answer," Gavaskar said.

India's selectors have just made a damning statement of what they think of Karun Nair as a player. Very very hard on him. Would love to know what he was told when the team was announced.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 7, 2018

Can Hanuma Vihari make the number 6 spot his own? Give him a run of a few games at least. At the same time spare a thought for Karun Nair!

— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) September 7, 2018

Hopefully, now having got the nod, Vihari grabs his chance with both hands.

Alastair Cook finally comes good

Cook came good on Friday

After having endured a horror time with the bat, Alastair Cook finally came good with the bat in hand in the second-last innings of his Test career.

His 71 runs helped England build a platform, but his dismissal proved to be the turning point for the Indians as they roared their way back into the game to take full control of proceedings.

India's fast bowlers shine again

Ishant and co. were simply outstanding

India have four more days on this tour and the series may be gone, but what the can take back with them is a group of fast bowlers, who have simply outstanding right through the series.

Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah were immaculate all day, keeping England at bay all day, running in with purpose and hitting the correct areas on a very consistent basis.

Hopefully, they carry this form into the tour of Australia as well.

Root's quest for a century goes on

Root fell early again on Friday

If Virat Kohli has had a stellar series with the bat in hand, his counterpart Joe Root has not quite made the most of his opportunities in this series.

He failed to conjure up another big score on Friday, falling for a duck to Bumrah and hopefully he can end the series on a high in the second innings.

Ravindra Jadeja proves his selection right

Jadeja gave Kohli the control he needed

Apart from replacing Hardik Pandya with Vihari, India also got in Ravindra Jadeja for R Ashwin and he repaid with a terrific spell of bowling, going for 57 runs in his 24 overs and claiming two wickets.

The all-rounder has warmed the benches up until this point in the series, but the minute he got his opportunity he has shown what he can be capable of with the ball.