'India’s bowling lacked consistency and...': Two-time IPL winning star suggests 'correction' for Shubman Gill-led side for fifth Test against England

Former India wicketkeeper batter Parthiv Patel reckons that the Jasprit Bumrah-led bowling attack needs to bowl consistently in the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 at The Oval after the fourth Test match in Manchester ended in a draw.

India's batting lineup in the second innings demonstrated resilience and grit, securing a draw in the fourth Test in Manchester. Hosts England are currently leading 2-1 in the series, and India have the last chance to level the series in London.

"Looking at the way India played this Test match, there’s not much I would change — but if you ask what could have been done better, I’d say the phase on Day 2 when England batted. During that period, India’s bowling lacked consistency and was a bit wayward on both sides of the wicket. That’s where some correction was possible. Otherwise, this has been a very good Test match for India, especially considering how things unfolded after the toss.

"Almost everything seemed to go against India — when India went in to bat, the clouds were overhead; when England came out to bat, the sun was shining bright. Add to that England’s huge total of 669 runs, and you can see how tough it was. Still, the way India fought back, there’s a lot of confidence to take into the 5th Test," Patel said on JioHotstar.

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Parthiv Patel, who was part of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) when the side won the Indian Premier League (IPL) title in 2010 and also represented Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2015 and 2017, shared his thoughts on the handshake controversy and said that the match should have played till the last over of the day irrespective of centuries from Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.

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"England did things their own way. Their effort was clear - they wanted to bowl India out and win the game. But when they realized that wasn’t possible, they put their weapons down and acknowledged that India had played very well. At the same time, India did what they wanted to do in their own way — two players worked really hard, batted brilliantly, and both deserved to score centuries.

"The only question I have is this: if Ben Duckett had been batting on 90 in the same situation and the opposition offered a handshake, would England have accepted it? I am very curious to know this, especially with so many talking about the ‘spirit of the game.’

"In my opinion, the game should have continued till the end of the day, even if the Indian batters completed their centuries. If 15 overs were still left, India should have batted because they worked extremely hard. Before lunch on Day 4, when two wickets fell, it looked like India could lose the Test on Day 5. But from that point to batting through 143 overs is an incredible effort. So, I believe what India did was absolutely right — though personally, I feel they could have batted a bit more," he added.

The fifth Test match is scheduled to start from July 31 and India vice-captain Rishabh Pant has been ruled out from the series after getting an injury during the fourth Test match.