Former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik expressed his dismay after India's bowlers, particularly Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj, struggled on Day 4 of the fifth and final Test match against England at The Oval. Karthik was candid in his evaluation, highlighting errors in fielding and bowling that allowed England to gain the upper hand.

The team was depending on the pace of three of Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, and Akash Deep for the game, as Jasprit Bumrah was rested and Shardul Thakur was benched. Despite this, Akash ended Day 4 with unimpressive stats of 1 for 85 from 20 overs, unable to deliver when it counted most.

Akash, who returned to action after missing the Manchester Test due to injury, struggled to find rhythm, and his pace was not enough for India to put pressure on the England batters from his end. The pacer may not have entirely recovered, as evidenced by the time Captain Shubman Gill was overheard inquiring as to whether he had received an injection.

Karthik criticized Akash Deep's performance, claiming that following his exploits at Edgbaston, where he claimed a match-winning ten-wicket haul, the pacer tapered down.

“For a start, I think Akash Deep could have bowled much better. I don’t think he really bowled as well as his talents suggest, because what he showed in Edgbaston was high quality. But then he kind of tapered off; I don’t know why. He bowled a lot down the leg; I’m not sure why he hasn’t had a good couple of games,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

Karthik also had some strong words for Mohammed Siraj, who gave Harry Brook a life after he stepped onto the boundary ropes after taking his catch. Brook went on to make 111 runs and added 195 runs with Joe Root for the fourth wicket and taking the game away from India’s grip.

“Siraj and Prasidh bowled their hearts out, no doubt about it. A very seminal moment in this game came when Siraj dropped that catch. He had just walked into the ground before the start of that over; the masseuse was standing behind him, and Arshdeep was just in his corner. Maybe he was just chilling and was not expecting anything of that sort to come to him. After that, you can almost see that the Indian team deflated a little,” Karthik said.

KL Rahul and Prasidh Krishna were clearly thrilled, and teammates had already begun to celebrate the catch. However, the atmosphere on the field soured as it was established that Siraj had stepped on the rope.

“He did not judge the ball well enough. When you are running behind for a catch, the most important aspect is that you need to quickly get under the ball and then have a wide base to keep your head still. What Siraj was doing is that he had a bit of a shorter step, so he was moving away as he took the catch, which tells you he did not judge the ball well enough.” Karthik said.

The final day at The Oval is set to be a tense one, as England needs 35 runs to win and India needs four wickets.

(Cricbuzz inputs)