Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to Prasidh Krishna's four-fer on Day 2 of ENG vs IND 2025 5th Test ft. R Ashwin

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The cricket fraternity reacted to Prasidh Krishna registering his best figures in the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval on Friday (August 1). Krishna's performances helped the Indian team to bundle out England on 247, as the home team took a 23-run lead.

In response to India's 224-run total, England started off on a grand note with their openers, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley. However, Akash Deep got rid of Duckett (43) to break the 92-run partnership. Soon, Krishna brought the team back in the contest by dismissing Crawley (64).

Prasidh Krishna bowled well in tandem with Mohammed Siraj, who was breathing fire with his consistent breakthroughts. Krishna found his groove at the stroke of Tea, when he took the crucial wickets of Jamie Smith (8) and Jamie Overton (0).

Krishna also went on to dismiss Gus Atkinson (11) and finished with figures of 4/62 off 16 overs. Meanwhile, Siraj also impressed by taking 4/86, resulting in England losing their last seven wickets under 80 runs.

On that note, let's take a look at the top expert reactions to Prasidh Krishna's terrific four-fer.

The newly elected bowling coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Varun Aaron shared his thoughts on Prasidh Krishna making inroads into the England lineup. Aaron lauded Krishna for delivering for the Indian team at the right time, and ensuring they wrap up the opposition's innings quickly.

During an interaction on JioHotstar, Varun Aaron said (via The Tribune):

"This had to be Prasidh's day. He really stepped up -- especially after Siraj had just bowled an eight-over spell and Akash Deep had done a long shift. Prasidh getting those breakthroughs was vital. If he hadn't, we'd have had to turn to spin, and someone like Harry Brook could have taken advantage. Thanks to Prasidh, the bowlers didn't have to overwork, and now they're fresh and full of confidence heading into the next innings."

Former Indian spinner R Ashwin lavished praise on Prasidh Krishna on his YouTube channel for making a riveting comeback in the fifth Test. Ashwin opined that the players need to be given enough time to prove their merit, and feels Krishna should be treated like a prized possession.

"Nowadays in this social media generation, people latch onto you pretty quick. Everyone was eager to send Prasidh Krishna out of the playing XI. It is not as if the selectors don't know, or the coach does not know that Prasidh Krishna is a rare commodity in Indian cricket," he said. (6:48)

R Ashwin pointed out Prasidh Krishna's ability to put the opposition batters under pressure with his steep bounce and out-swingers.

"He's tall, he's strong, he's bustling in, he's got steep bounce. Ishant Sharma had inswingers but Prasidh has a steeper bounce and he's got outswingers. When he gets it right, he can be uncomfortable (to face). Even in this game, he didn't had the best of starts. But, he stuck to it, and all it took was a couple of balls to see what Prasidh Krishna is capable of," he added.

In the latest video on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra expressed his happiness at Prasidh Krishna's performances after receiving criticism for his under-par performances especially in the Edgbaston Test. He said:

"Prasidh Krishna has been at the receiving end. He has been trolled a lot. In fact, I was reading somewhere that if you keep a polar bear for so long in the inland, it will acclimatize, but Prasidh Krishna has still not done that." (9:13)

Chopra feels Krishna's tall height proved to be an asset as he extracted help from the surface to take important wickets for the Indian team.

"He said no issues, picked up four wickets, and he bowled well. I feel tall bowlers have benefited a lot at this ground. Traditionally, they benefit at this ground. You get a little extra bounce. Of course, he has been expensive, but four extremely crucial wickets," he added.

During an interaction on ESPNcricinfo, Sanjay Bangar praised Prasidh Krishna for proving doubters wrong with his impressive performances. Bangar pointed out that Krishna's good-length deliveries were effective in unsettling English batters and testing them around the off-stump line. He said:

"A massive match for Prasidh Krishna. Coming on the back of being sidelined, the pressure would have been on him. What I liked about his initial overs is that he was trying to get the length fuller up and in that process, he used his back-of-length deliveries well. He was hitting various lengths. If you err in line against Joe Root, he is quick to lash on to anything. So not giving him that width which he is looking at, he kept on bowling in that channel. Very impressed." (6:38)

Former Indian opener Navjot Singh Sidhu also offered his take on Prasidh Krishna's impact on The Oval Test. As per Sidhu, Krishna utilized his height well to extract bounce off the surface and secure crucial breakthroughs for the visitors.

In the latest video on his YouTube channel, he said:

"You can see that when the surface becomes hard, Prasidh's short ball becomes quite effective. Today, he dismissed two England batters, while they tried to play a pull shot. England had already made around 90 runs and it looked like they will take a lead of 100-200 runs. But, India managed to bundle them out early, on the back of their terrific bowling performances. (6:00)

"It was the first time that the pair of Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna came to the fore," he added.