Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett wreak havoc against India on Day 5 of Headingley Test, become first pair to achieve this feat

England started the fifth and final day of the Headingley Test on 21/0 with Zak Crawley unbeaten on 12 and Ben Duckett batting on 9. With England requiring 350 runs at the beginning of the day, the duo had the responsibility of providing their side with a strong start and that is exactly what they did.

The batters played sensibly during the opening spells of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj and after that, they started playing their natural game. It was Duckett who was the aggressor among the two as he started scoring boundaries for fun by the end of the first session. England would conclude the session on 117/0, requiring 254 runs in the remaining overs of the day.

Duckett reached his hundred during the second session

Duckett would eventually go on to bring up his much-deserved century in the second session as England continued to pile on runs without losing any wickets. Notably, this was the first century by an England batter in the fourth innings at Headingley since Alastair Cook's knock of 109* against Bangladesh back in 2010. 

ALSO READ: 'Let the boy play...': Ex-England star sends clear message to Gautam Gambhir about Rishabh Pant following the 27-year-old's heroics at Headingley

On the other hand, Crawley would also get to a hard-fought half-century before getting dismissed on 65 by Prasidh Krishna, who finally got the much-needed breakthrough for the Men in Blue. However, it came after the hosts had already put up a total of 188 on the board.

This partnership is the highest against India in the fourth innings of any Test match and is also the highest in the fourth innings at Headingley. Further on, it is the fifth highest stand by any opening pair in the fourth innings. Additionally, this was also the first time that both the openers hit fifty-plus scores in the fourth innings of a Test match held at Headingley.

ALSO READ: 'The head is good, the middle portion is okay, but...': Shubman Gill-led India's batting 'compared with Dobermann Dog', WATCH VIDEO

Duckett would eventually get dismissed by Shardul Thakur on 149 runs from 170 deliveries. The splendid knock included 21 fours and a six, leaving the Leeds crowd thoroughly entertained. Tahakur would get the massive wicket of Harry Brook on the very next ball as the hosts got restricted to 253/4. The second session would abruptly be brought to an end due to rain stopping play.

England currently stand on 269/4 with Joe Root unbeaten on 14 and Ben Stokes batting on 13. The hosts require 102 runs in the final session to emerge victorious and take a 1-0 lead in the series while on the other hand, India need the remaining six wickets to record a famous victory.