Test Cricket: India 135/1 at stumps against England at Dharamsala: Kuldeep Yadav’s fourth fifer in Tests
India were at 135 for one at the stumps against England in the first innings of the fifth and final test match of the series at Dharamsala. Rohit Sharma on 52 and Shubman Gill on 26 were at the crease when stumps were drawn on Thursday evening.
Earlier, the visitors were all out for 218 runs in their first innings. For India, Kuldeep Yadav claimed five wickets after England Skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat first. The hosts have already won the series, taking an unassailable lead of 3-1.
Kuldeep Yadav’s fourth fifer in Tests (5-72) coupled with fifties from Rohit Sharma (52*) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (57) helped India to take the honours on the opening day of the fifth and final Test against England in Dharamsala on Thursday (March 7). Opting to bat in seamer-friendly conditions, England rode on Zak Crawley’s fifty (79) to get a solid start to the day’s proceedings. India’s new-ball duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj beat the bat consistently in the opening hour but weren’t able to find the nick. Ben Duckett, after a scratchy start, looked promising before becoming the first of Kuldeep’s five scalps.
The left-arm wrist spinner wasted little time in providing the opening breakthrough for India as he removed Duckett in his first over, forcing a miscue from the southpaw. Kuldeep created doubts in the batter’s minds with the zip he was extracting off the surface. The track was by no means a rank turner but the 29-year-old used all his skills to upset the rhythm of England’s batters. Ollie Pope was put in a maze before his meek attempt to come down the pitch resulted in the easiest of stumpings for Dhruv Jurel. A well-set Crawley, who had looked effortless against pace and spin alike, was then set up beautifully to be bowled through the gate by a wily leg break.
Ben Stokes wasn’t spared either as he got an assortment of googlies and leg breaks in alternate measures before the former got him LBW, pinned to the crease. Jonny Bairstow wanted to hit his way out of trouble and the fun did last for a few overs before Kuldeep had the last laugh. What stood out in his bowling performance was the subtle changes in pace and lengths, and the fact that he was brave enough to toss the ball up frequently. Amidst this, Ravindra Jadeja made full use of the skid and hold in the surface to prise out the big wicket of Joe Root. Such was the drastic nature of the collapse that England lost six wickets in just 37 balls to slip from 175/3 to 183/8.In his 100th Test match, Ravichandran Ashwin (4/51) did the final clean up job as he picked up the last four English wickets to fall. The off-spinner wasn’t at his best in his initial spell but came back strongly to ensure that Kuldeep’s act was consolidated upon. Apart from Crawley, none of England’s batters managed to bat with clarity at the crease. Even the seasoned batters in Root and Stokes were guilty of being muddled in their gameplan. The strong performance from India’s bowlers was complimented by an equally aggressive show from their openers.
Jaiswal continued his stellar form in the series as he went past 700 runs across these five Tests, only the second Indian after Sunil Gavaskar to achieve the feat. Another record broken by the young left-hander was the fastest to 1000 Test runs for India (in terms of matches played). He was at his fearless best, taking down the pacers and spinners with aplomb. Tom Hartley bore the brunt of the onslaught with an over that went for three sixes. Rohit kept up the momentum at his end too, through some delightful punches and pulls. Jaiswal’s ultra-aggressive approach eventually brought about his wicket but by then, he had done significant damage.
Rohit continued to play his shots and Shubman GIll has also begun on a positive note. The surface has played well for most parts of the day and it were the skills of India’s spinners, notably Kuldeep, that did the damage. England’s inexperienced spin attack haven’t been able to get similar purchase from the surface. With four full days left, India will want to bat England out of the game but as this series has shown, momentum flips can happen quickly. Like it did in the afternoon session today.
Brief scores: England 218 (Zak Crawley 79; Kuldeep Yadav 5-72, Ravichandran Ashwin 4-51) lead India 135/1 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 57, Rohit Sharma 52*) by 83 runs
