'England ke pass bowling nahi hai...': Sunil Gavaskar takes brutal 'Oval pitch' jibe on Ollie Pope & Co. during Day 1 of fifth Test

Despite resting the likes of Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse for the fifth and final Test of the series against India, England put in a great bowling display on the first day at The Oval. They managed to restrict the visitors to 204/6 before the end of day's play. Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue picked up two scalps each while Chris Woakes also chipped in with one as the hosts made the most out of the pitch that appeared to be tailor-made for seamers. It was thanks to Karun Nair's unbeaten inning of 52 that the visitors managed to cross the 200-run mark otherwise things could have gone even worse for them.

Gavaskar took a brutal dig on England bowlers

The Oval pitch was one of the main talking points of the day and legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar felt that England had made such a surface because they didn't comprise of quality bowlers who would be able to take wickets on a batting-friendly pitch.

“(Unke paas koi bowling bhi hai nahi, isliye aisi pitch banaayi) They do not have quality bowlers, that is why they made such a pitch," Gavaskar said on Sony Sports Network.

“Stokes had taken wickets, Archer took wickets, Carse took wickets. If they aren’t playing, who else will take wickets? That’s the reason they made a pitch like this so that Tongue and others can get some help," he added.

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England began the first day on a highly positive note as Atkinson got the massive wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal in only the fourth over of the match. KL Rahul would soon follow him back to the pavilion after getting dismissed by Woakes for 14 runs as the Three Lions kept on taking wickets on regular intervals, denying the Men in Blue of forming any big partnerships. Atkinson also performed a stunning run-out to send India captain Shubman Gill back to the dugout for 21 runs.

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Though Sai Sudharsan looked to be in good touch at one stage, Tongue managed to get his wicket for 38 runs, restricting the visitors to 101/4. Both Ravindra Jadeja (9) and Dhruv Jurel (19) also lost their wickets for cheap before Nair formed an unbeaten stand of 51 runs alongside Washington Sundar who finished the day on 19 runs. It remains to be seen which side will get the better of the other on the much-anticipated Day 2.