England collapsed in spectacular fashion after Lunch on day one in Dharamshala, losing three wickets for no runs before capitulating to 194-8 at tea.
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Having chosen to bat in the final Test of the five-match series, England survived a tricky early session for the loss of only two wickets. Ollie Pope was out for 11 on the stroke of lunch to leave England 100-2. Zak Crawley, searching for his first century of the tour, and Joe Root stabilised the innings after lunch, putting on 37 runs in 12 overs. However, Kuldeep Yadav looked particularly dangerous after the break and he finally broke the partnership with a sharply turning ball to Crawley which bowled him through the gate.
Although Crawley has scored more runs than any other batter in the series other than Yashasvi Jaiswal, going past 400 runs in his innings today at an average of 45.22, he hasn’t produced a definitive three-figure knock. His 79 today was his third score of more than 70 and his fourth of between 50 and 80 on the tour.
Plenty of starts for Zak Crawley in India.
He has one innings left to play.#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/Gp2ALxiOQc
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) March 7, 2024
Crawley’s wicket brough Jonny Bairstow to the crease in his 100th Test. He looked in the mood for a trademark innings from the outset. He guided a ball down to fine leg for a four off his third ball at the crease and whacked Kuldeep for six straight past his head to launch a counterattack, and slogged another six over mid-wicket off Kuldeep to double-down on his intent.
However, two balls later, Joel Wilson’s finger went up when India appealed for a caught behind. Bairstow reviewing with confidence immediately, but UltraEdge showed a faint nick and he was out for 29 off 16 balls. His wicket marked the epicentre of England’s collapse.
Four balls later Ravindra Jadeja trapped Root without the score having moved on. He also asked to send the decision upstairs, with three reds leaving England with only one review remaining. With Ben Foakes at the crease playing out four dot balls to see out the over, and Ben Stokes facing three dots off Kuldeep’s next, England’s runs were resolutely stuck on 175.
Stokes went back in his crease to Kuldeep’s fourth ball and was struck on the pads. Once again the umpire’s finger went up and once again the review was called for. Predictably, ball-tracking showed three reds and England’s three most senior batters had burned through all of England’s reviews without scoring a run in between in the space of 13 balls.
The collapse is a continuation of significant struggles for England’s middle order during this series. All of England’s batters from Root onwards in the order average less than 30, with two 50-plus scores between them. Pope’s 296 runs in the series are made up largely of his 196 in Hyderabad, 100 runs coming from his eight other innings collectively.
Tom Hartley and Mark Wood also perished before tea, within the space of three balls from R Ashwin. On a pitch that was tipped to offer more for seamers on both sides before the start of the match, all eight of England’s wickets before tea fell to spinners, with Kuldeep taking his fourth five-for in just his 12th Test match.
