Dharamsala: India’s opening duo, Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal, unleashed a relentless onslaught on the English bowlers, propelling India to a commanding position on the first day of the final Test at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. Finishing the day at 135/1, India trailing by 83 runs, with Rohit Sharma leading the charge at an unbeaten 52, accompanied by Shubman Gill, who stands tall with a score of 26*.
Earlier in the day, England faced a formidable challenge as they were bowled out for 218 in their first innings. Ravichandran Ashwin cleared off England’s tail end after Kuldeep Yadav struck vital blows taking five wickets for 72 runs in the picturesque stadium.
England started the post-Lunch session at 100/2, with Crawley (1* in 71 balls, with nine fours and a six) unbeaten at the crease.
Root and Crawley attacked pacer Jasprit Bumrah with some solid shots. Kuldeep Yadav landed India their breakthrough as he bowled Crawley for 79 ( 108 balls, with 11 fours and a six). England were 137/3.
With the help of a four by Jonny Bairstow on a Ravindra Jadeja delivery, England reached the 150-run mark in 41 overs.
Kuldeep continued to run through the English middle-order, removing Bairstow for 29. The batter’s counterattacking knock had two fours and two sixes and he was caught by Dhruv Jurel. England were 175/4. Indian spinners were all over England, with Ravindra Jadeja trapping Root leg-before-wicket for 26 reducing the visitors to 175/5.
Kuldeep got his five-wicket haul as he removed England skipper Ben Stokes for a duck. Ravichandran Ashwin, playing his 100th Test, joined the party as well, with wickets of Tom Hartley (6) and Mark Wood (0).
England had two wickets in hand at Tea and were a few runs away from the 200-run mark. Kuldeep (5/72) was the pick of the bowlers for India. Ashwin (4/51) also backed the high-flying Chinaman spinner, while, Jadeja also took a wicket.
India Playing 11: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravindra Jadeja, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah
England Playing 11: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, Mark Wood, James Anderson
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