Cliff Notes – England on course with Duckett-Crawley century stand
- England’s openers, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, batted through the first session without losing a wicket, reaching 117 for 0 at lunch, and forming a century partnership.
- Duckett accelerated to a 66-ball half-century, while Crawley survived a dropped catch and a close lbw review, contributing 42 runs.
- The pair became the first England openers since Cook and Strauss to score 2000 runs together, as India struggled to find a breakthrough.
England on course with Duckett-Crawley century stand
At Lunch England 465 and 117 for 0 (Duckett 64*, Crawley 42*) trail India 471 and 364 by 254 runs, but since then they’ve had a wobble. They are currently at 312-5 for 71 overs and need another 59 to win. All hopes rest in the capable hands of Joe Root. He needs to play an Inzamam-ul Haq innings and guide England to victory.
England’s openers batted through the first session unscathed at Headingley, with all four results possible at lunch on the final day. Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley put on their fourth century partnership and became the first set of England openers since Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss to score 2000 runs as a pair, as India toiled in vain for a breakthrough.
Duckett and Crawley were cautious against Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the early stages, with gloomy conditions and tight lines and lengths making fluent run-scoring a challenge. But they kicked on against the change bowlers, Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur, and Duckett accelerated to a 66-ball half-century.
The closest India came to a breakthrough was shortly before lunch, when Bumrah put down a tough low caught-and-bowled chance off Crawley. Roared on by the sizeable Indian contingent at Headingley, Bumrah induced a leading edge as Crawley, on 42, looked to defend towards mid-on but he failed to cling on while diving forwards to his left.
Crawley had another brief scare on 21 when Shubman Gill was talked into using a review in the hope of winning an lbw decision. He was struck on the pad when skipping down the pitch to Siraj and looking to hit him over the top, but ball-tracking projected that it would have missed the top of leg stump.
Duckett missed a couple of attempted scoops while attempting to relieve the pressure during the first hour, but his change in tempo owed primarily to orthodox cuts and pulls. He reached lunch unbeaten on 64, following on from his first-innings 62.
The first session was uninterrupted by weather despite the threat of rain, though conditions were grey and murky, with the floodlights on full beam for most of the morning.