England were dismissed for 218 in their first innings in the final test against India on Thursday. Opening batsman Zak Crawley was the highest scorer for England with 79 runs, while other batsmen failed to reach the half-century mark.
Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav was the standout bowler, taking 5 wickets for 72 runs. His victims included Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, and Ben Stokes. This was Yadav's fourth five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Crawley, who had earlier survived two reviews off Yadav, was eventually dismissed by a superb delivery from the spinner.
Despite a tough early session against India's seamers, Crawley reached his half-century by driving Yadav for four. He was not out at lunch, having scored 61 runs from 71 balls. Yadav also dismissed Duckett and Pope in the morning session. England's innings collapsed dramatically after Joe Root was trapped leg before wicket by Ravindra Jadeja and Jonny Bairstow was bowled by Yadav.
In a remarkable turn of events, the English cricket team found themselves in a tricky situation as they were bowled out for 218 in 57.4 overs.
The English side, which was comfortably leading at 175/3, suddenly found themselves at 175/6 due to the impressive bowling by lbwing Stokes and Kuldeep. The lunch break saw England reeling at 194/8, with Ravichandran Ashwin, who was playing his 100th Test, taking the wickets of Tom Hartley and Mark Wood in quick succession.
Despite the challenging situation, Ben Foakes managed to lift the total beyond 200 with his valuable contribution. Kuldeep's contribution to the game was significant, taking crucial wickets and escalating England's troubles.
Also read: Mumbai girl breaches 130kph barrier with fastest delivery in women's cricket