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.&quot;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,&quot; 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, 2018Can 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, 2018Hopefully, now having got the nod, Vihari grabs his chance with both hands.

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

Alastair Cook finally comes good