In a carnage spell of searing pace bowling at his home venue, England's Gus Atkinson tore through the Indian batting order on Day 2 of the fifth and final Test at The Oval. Atkinson's incandescent display earned a five-wicket haul, an important feat that demolished the Indian lower order and left the visitors bowled out for a modest score. This thrilling attempt has placed England in a commanding position and turned the tide of the series decider. Watch here: Five wickets for Gus Atkinson, who has been head and shoulders above the rest of England's attack on his home ground. Currently has 60 wickets at 21 in his 13th Test. Has quietly been a big miss from England's attack this summer. — Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) August 1, 2025 Four five-fors in 13 Tests for Atkinson.For comparison, other current England seamers...Wood: 5Stokes: 5Woakes: 5Archer: 3 — Yas Rana (@Yas_Wisden) August 1, 2025 It might be temporary, but as of now, no bowler, dead or alive; has taken more Test wickets at a better strike rate than Gus Atkinson in last 125 years.He has grabbed 60 wickets at an astonishing strike rate of 34.9! pic.twitter.com/uRB8FHY4dn — Abhishek AB (@ABsay_ek) August 1, 2025 Gus Atkinson was player of the year for England last season and he has got a fifer on his comeback game that for just 33 runs at economy of 1.52, India should consider themselves lucky that there was no Gus Atkinson in 1st 4 games. This series could be 4-0 up with him available. — Rajiv (@Rajiv1841) August 1, 2025 What a spell from Gus Atkinson today morning as he get his fourth 5-wicket haul (5/33). Wrote about him, how crucial his role will be given Woakes will not be available. #ENGvIND https://t.co/33Wq6DxIrg pic.twitter.com/mljQWV9hcO — Debasis Sen (@debasissen) August 1, 2025 A lot of talk about injuries in this series, can't help but think that Gus Atkinson might have been the biggest miss of the lot. — The Cricket Podcast (@TheCricketPod) August 1, 2025 Read also: Watch: Josh Tongue’s Beauty Sends Sai Sudharsan Packing Gus Atkinson, bowling at his home ground, produced a career-best performance that shredded India's tailenders on a difficult Oval pitch. Having taken 204/6 when play resumed on Day 2, Atkinson did not waste any time in showing his worth. He picked three of the last four Indian wickets in an outstanding spell that took just 34 deliveries, ending with wonderful figures of 5-33 off 21.4 overs. On the second day, his victims were Karun Nair, lbw trapped for 57, Washington Sundar, who hoicked a short ball to deep square leg, and a brilliant double strike to clean up Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, confirming his richly earned five-wicket haul. Before that, Atkinson dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel. It was the fourth five-wicket haul of Atkinson's promising Test career, an indication of his vast potential. His spell was amplified further by the news that England was short of Chris Woakes, who had got a shoulder injury on Day 1 and was excluded from the rest of the match. Atkinson's bowling not only tore down Indian batting but also proved how effective the Oval wicket was for seamers, giving the Indian attack a blue print to follow.