IND vs ENG | Rip-roaring Kuldeep fifer triggers typical Bazballian collapse on chaotic Day 1
A backdrop of the mighty Himalayas inspired no serenity in England's batting approach as they tumbled to 218 all-out on a benign deck in Dharamsala despite Zak Crawley's assertive 79. The hosts in response raced to 135/1 on the back of fifties from both openers, with Rohit Sharma remaining unbeaten.
It was a case of not being good enough to nick the ball for Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett through the first hour of play in Dharamsala as Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj had the duo on the ropes through an exceptional display of swing and seam bowling. The former was particularly brilliant, squaring Crawley all hands up on several occasions before explicitly asking him how he was still at the creaseĀ whileĀ bowing out of the attack. Nevertheless, once the spinners came on, the openers returned to their Bazball roots to bring up a fifth half-century stand in the series, the joint-most in a series in India. However, just as they had begun to get going, Kuldeep Yadav saw Duckett needlessly sky one to depart for an atypical 58-ball 27 before having a charging Ollie Pope comprehensively stumped at the stroke of Lunch to bring India back into the game at 100/2.
Crawley carried on from his unbeaten half-century to stamp further authority after the break that was only challenged by Kuldeep's variations. The battle eventually came to aĀ head courtesy of a viciousĀ ripper that turned 11 degreesĀ to beat a thawing drive and crash into the stumps. IPLĀ seemed to have comeĀ earlyĀ thereon for Jonny Bairstow as he smashed two maximums and as many boundaries in his 18-ball blitzkrieg for 29. However, as has been the case throughout the tour, he ended up playing a shot too many to nick a Kuldeep googly and Joe Root's steady 26 fell victim to a Ravindra Jadeja arm ball four deliveries later which triggered a fatal collapse for the Three Lions. Another Kuldeep googly that turned square to trap Ben Stokes plumb for a duck and a pair of twin blows by Ravichandran Ashwin either side of Tea in his 100th Test meant 175/3 culminated into 218 all-out.
The sun was glaring when India came out to bat and Rohit made optimum use of theĀ benign new ball by being at his sublime best. The skipper displayed the full array of backfoot punches, straight drives, and hooks,Ā whileĀ Yashasvi Jaiswal welcomed Shaoib Bashir into theĀ attackĀ with three massive sixes and kicked offĀ followingĀ a sedate start. However, the off-spinner had the last laugh as a rush of bloodĀ saw Jaiswal stumped for a run-a-ball 57 afterĀ theĀ gung-ho approach had earned the pair 104 runs together. Nevertheless, Rohit kept plugging away to bring up his 18th Test half-century and Shubman Gill carried on in the same vein as his predecessor to accumulate 36 quick runs,Ā thusĀ seeing the day through with an unbeaten partnership of 31.Ā
What a lovely gesture!
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ā BCCI (@BCCI)Ā March 7, 2024
R Ashwin š¤ Kuldeep Yadav
Follow the match ā¶ļøĀ https://t.co/jnMticF6fcĀ #TeamIndiaĀ |Ā #INDvENGĀ |Ā @ashwinravi99Ā |Ā @imkuldeep18Ā |Ā @IDFCFIRSTBankĀ pic.twitter.com/hJyrCS6Hqh
Elite!
Indians with 50+ score in all 5 matches of a Test series
ā Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats)Ā March 7, 2024
Rusi Modi v WI, 1948-49
Yashasvi Jaiswal v ENG, 2024#INDvENGĀ pic.twitter.com/eV9O7zPPGP
LOL
Yashasvi has scored more runs (712 runs) and hit more sixes (26) in nine innings than what Root, Stokes & Bairstow managed between them in 27 combined innings (632 runs & eight sixes).#INDvENG
ā Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks)Ā March 7, 2024
Crazy
England 175 for 3, then losing 3 wickets (and all 3 reviews) in 13 deliveriesĀ #IndvEngĀ pic.twitter.com/G1hx9P0zfa
ā Vithushan Ehantharajah (@Vitu_E)Ā March 7, 2024
Brilliant
What a brilliant half century by Rohit Sharma, Captain is leading from the front. š®š³#INDvENGĀ pic.twitter.com/UzIhrJ6pm0
ā šš”šš¢šš”š® š®š³ (@ChaitRo45)Ā March 7, 2024
Unbelievable!
Still rubbing my eyes in disbelief. What a viewĀ #INDvENGĀ #DharamshalaĀ pic.twitter.com/VEzD9Zh66v
ā Kartik Kannan (@kartik_kannan)Ā March 7, 2024
Legend!
Legend Ash annaĀ #INDvENGĀ pic.twitter.com/NMnpEgz3C7
ā memes_hallabol (@memes_hallabol)Ā March 7, 2024
True
Two identical pics š¤£š¤£Ā #INDvENGĀ pic.twitter.com/sw4bfKvdZy
ā š (@CrazyForCric8)Ā March 7, 2024
Domination
"Jaiswal dominates with fifties and doubles, England struggles to contain."#YashasviJaiswalĀ #INDvENGĀ pic.twitter.com/qqF7Q9ou92
ā Fukkard (@Fukkard)Ā March 7, 2024
Sad
@guerillacricket
ā Messy Jez (@messyjez)Ā March 7, 2024
The sad nerd within me is very satisfied to see the England batting averages are ranked precisely in batting order!#INDvENGĀ #ENGvINDĀ pic.twitter.com/dZlg7jk1n5