Kuldeep Yadav had a terrific post-lunch session as England batters struggled to read him.
The fifth Test between India and England got underway at HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala on March 7. England won the toss in cooler conditions and elected to bat first. The openers started sedately which was quite different from their usual Bazball approach.
Both Crawley and Duckett rode their luck as Indian fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj tested the edges of both the batters. But the batters came unscathed and played out the dangerous-looking new-ball spell.
Kuldeep Yadav provided India the first breakthrough when Shubman Gill took a superb diving catch by running backwards from short cover to dismiss Duckett for 27. England No. 3 Ollie Pope was dismissed for 11 at the stroke of lunch when he was stumped by Jurel off Kuldeep’s bowling.
𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐖𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐓 💥
Kuldeep 𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰 the game around, all by himself 🤩#IDFCFirstBankTestSeries #BazBowled #INDvENG #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/tOnj8RgLJq
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) March 7, 2024
But the ball turned sharply to hit the leg-stump. Kuldeep had beaten Crawley in the flight, which resulted in Crawley misjudging the length. The ball turned 10.9° with a puff of dust. The tall right-hander was dismissed for a well-made 79, which included 11 fours and a six. This is Crawley’s fourth half-century of the series but he is yet to score a hundred.
Kuldeep’s unplayable spell was lauded by Harsha Bhogle. The renowned commentator termed Kuldeep’s ball to dismiss Zak Crawley a classical wrist-spinner’s wicket.
Classical wrist spinner’s wicket. The drift dragging the bat wider and creating the gap between bat and pad for the ball to turn back through. Kuldeep has bowled wonderfully today
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 7, 2024
The prized wicket of Crawley provided India a sigh of relief, who were desperate for a wicket after lunch. Kuldeep Yadav went on to dismiss Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes later and completed his fourth five-wicket haul in Tests.
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