LEEDS: A superb century from Ben Duckett helped steer England to a sensational five-wicket win in the first Test against India after a thrilling day five on Tuesday, the hosts reaching a target of 371 – the 10th highest successful run chase in Test history.
Having turned the match on its head at Headingley after India had been 430-3 in their first innings, England appeared to be cruising to a dramatic win as openers Duckett and Zak Crawley eased their side to lunch on 117-0 in their second innings.
Duckett continued his imperious form with another four through the covers to reach his sixth Test hundred, before Crawley fell for 65, their 188-run partnership the second highest England opening fourth-innings stand in Tests.
Two wickets in two balls – Duckett and Harry Brook – dragged India back into the enthralling contest and when Ben Stokes fell for 33 attempting an ambitious reverse sweep, England’s hopes of victory lay precariously in the balance.
Joe Root’s unbeaten 53 calmed the nerves around his home ground, with the former skipper and Jamie Smith, who hit a six to seal victory, seeing England home as India, having scored five centuries in the match, somehow contrived to start the five-Test series in defeat.
“Incredible, what a Test match. It was a huge number of runs and we have been lucky with the weather,” Duckett said. “I am lost for words.
“We only had to look at the scoreboard to know that if we batted the overs, we would win the game. There were moments when I thought about stepping into another gear but the breaks in the game helped us to stay calm.
“To start this series with a 1-0 win is huge for us. It felt calm in the dressing room. To have Root out there, it’s pretty easy to be calm.”
Resuming day five on 21-0, uncharacteristically for a team renowned for their ultra-aggressive batting, Crawley and Duckett took 99 balls to bring up their 50 partnership – the longest it has taken the pair to do so for England – before upping the ante.
There was slight concern for England when first-innings centurion Ollie Pope quickly followed Crawley back to the pavilion midway through the afternoon session, the number three becoming Prasidh Krishna’s next victim in back-to-back overs.
Duckett continued to accumulate runs quickly, however, before attempting one big shot too many to fall to Shardul Thakur for 149 – the second-highest Test fourth-innings score by an English opener.
The contribution of Duckett, in such a pressurised situation, cannot be underestimated – it is 15 years since an England opener last scored a fourth-innings hundred: Alastair Cook at Mirpur in 2010.
Nerves set in around the ground when Brook departed for a golden duck, two in two balls for Thakur, with further scares forthcoming as England looked edgy.
Stokes was left shaking his head at the way he fell to Ravindra Jadeja shortly after tea, but Root and Smith both dug in, stopped offering up chances and got the runs required, with Smith rounding off a remarkable victory in style.
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Plenty of dropped catches and two batting collapses ultimately cost India. From 430-3 in the first innings, they lost their final seven wickets for just 41 runs, with the tail crumbling again in the second innings, 31 runs accumulated for the fall of the final six wickets.
It is the first time in history a team has managed five centuries in one Test and not emerged victorious, but also the first time those five centurions have been joined by six batsmen who fell for ducks – three in each innings - in the same match.
“We had our chances,” India captain Shubman Gill said. “A few dropped catches and the lower order not contributing as much as we would like (cost us) but I am proud. Our young team is learning.
“It just didn’t go our way in this match. We have to rectify (the batting collapses) in the upcoming matches.”
For England, at the start of a crucial period with the Ashes to come later this year, their summer could not have got off to a more promising start, with their aggressive approach, even if it has been toned down and refined, achieving their second highest run chase in their Test history.
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