Kuldeep Yadav has dramatically shifted the momentum in India's favor by claiming two crucial wickets early on the first day of the ongoing fifth Test against England at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. After England's captain Ben Stokes chose to bat, openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett provided a steady start. Despite numerous close calls from India's pacers with the new ball, they were unable to secure an early wicket. Initially cautious, the English openers eventually began to accelerate their scoring.
Surpassing 50 runs in the 15th over, the partnership looked solid until India's attempts with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Ravichandran Ashwin failed to break it within the first 17 overs. In a strategic move, India's captain Rohit Sharma introduced Kuldeep Yadav into the bowling lineup in the 18th over, who quickly made a significant impact.
Yadav, the left-arm spinner, took down Ben Duckett in his very first over, providing the critical breakthrough India had been seeking. Duckett was dismissed after contributing 27 runs to a 64-run opening stand with Zak Crawley.
Kuldeep Yadav deceives Ollie Pope with brilliant googly
Following Duckett's exit, Crawley and Ollie Pope stabilised the innings for England, propelling their score to 100. England seemed poised to dominate the session until Kuldeep Yadav delivered a crucial blow just before lunch, dismissing Pope.
In the 26th over's third delivery, Yadav's skillful googly completely deceived the England batsman. Advancing down the pitch in anticipation of a different spin direction, Pope was thoroughly outplayed by the googly. With Pope significantly away from his crease, Dhruv Jurel had plenty of time to gather the ball and remove the bails. Pope was out for 11 runs off 24 balls. Later, Kuldeep returned to dismiss Crawley too, this time dodging him with a searing spin which rattled his stumps. Crawley scored 79 off 108 balls riding on 11 fours and a six.
As of 39 overs, England are 145/3 with Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow intact on the crease. Despite already losing the series, England aim to end the five-match series on a positive note. On the other hand, India seek to capitalise on this momentum and secure their fourth consecutive Test victory to remain on top of WTC 2023-2025 points table.
India's Playing XI
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
England's Playing XI
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir.
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