England suffer injury blow as Woakes ruled out of Oval Test vs India

London [UK], August 1 (ANI): Ahead of the start of Day 2 of the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 against India on Friday, England have suffered a significant blow as their ace right-arm seamer Chris Woakes has been ruled out of the Test match after suffering a shoulder injury.
A statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board stated that Woakes, who sustained a nasty blow to the shoulder on Day 1 of the fifth Test, will play no further part in the Test match.
A further assessment shall be made at the end of the series. The incident took place in the 57th over of India's first innings.
Stretching to make a dive at the boundary to save a run, Woakes was seen in discomfort, holding his shoulder. The England pacer would receive immediate inspection from the team physio and was forced off the field.
Earlier in the day, Woakes had struck early with the new ball to remove Indian opener KL Rahul as India finished the day six wickets down with 204 runs on the scoreboard.
The injury comes as a big blow for the hosts, who are leading 2-1 in the ongoing five-match ICC World Test Championship series.
England are also without the services of captain Ben Stokes, who was ruled out of the series decider due to a right shoulder injury.
A resilient and much-needed half-century for Karun Nair and his unbeaten half-century partnership with a resolute Washington Sundar helped India fight back after losing quick wickets during the first day of the fifth Test against England at The Oval on Thursday.
At the end of the day's play, India was 204/6, with Nair (52*) and Sundar (19*) unbeaten, having stitched a 51-run stand so far after the visitors had stumbled to 153/6.
Recapping Day 1 of The Oval Test, England won the toss and elected to field first. Team India never really managed to stitch massive partnerships, with openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (2) and KL Rahul (14) dismissed early. Skipper Shubman Gill's suicidal run-out for 21 and Sudharan's dismissal for 38 in 108 balls (with six fours) shook the top order, and Ravindra Jadeja (9) and Dhruv Jurel (19) crumbled under pressure.
Nair (52*) and Sundar (19*) put on a valuable 51-run stand for the seventh wicket after India was reduced to 153/6, helping India cross the 200-run mark. Gus Atkinson (2/31) and Josh Tongue (2/47) were the top bowlers for England. (ANI)