Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley broke the eight-year-old record to register the highest opening partnership in the fourth innings this century. Australia pair of David Warner and Cameron Bancroft held the record, registering 173* against England in 2017. Sri Lanka openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne came close to breaking it, but they could score only 161 runs. Against India at Headingley, Duckett and Crawley looked in sublime touch and broke the record.
The England internationals stitched a partnership of 188 runs. Chasing 371 runs, the Three Lions needed a strong start, and that’s what Duckett and Crawley provided. The duo were phenomenal in the middle as the India bowlers looked clueless for the majority of the time. After setting the game in their favour, Crawley departed after scoring 65 runs. The opener nicked one to KL Rahul, who was stationed in the first slip.
England close in on famous win
After a sensational start in Leeds, the Ben Stokes-led side will be hoping to take a lead in the first-match series. They have things well under their control, and if they manage to play to their merit, England can very well get the job done. Prasidh Krishna picked up the wicket of Crawley and soon after that, he beat Ollie Pope’s defence.
Krishna has found some rhythm and India would hope for a comeback towards the end of the day but so far, it’s England that look favourite. The Indian bowlers, on the other hand, will be disappointed with their performance. The fielding hasn’t been up to the mark as well. Yashasvi Jaiswal once again dropped a catch in the match and that is one area that the team needs to address immediately.
Regardless of a win, defeat or a draw, tough calls need to be taken on the bowling department, which looked lacklustre in the opening game of the series. It was only Jasprit Bumrah who looked impressive.