Shardul, Prasidh change complexion of 1st Test in India's favour as England stand 102 runs away from win

Leeds [UK], June 24 (ANI): Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur pulled India back into the mix by scything wickets in quick succession to perfectly poise the final session with England 102 runs away from victory, while the tourists' six scalps away from robbing the hosts on day five of the opening Test at Headingley on Tuesday.

After the end of the second session, England put 269/4 on the board, with Root and captain Stokes unbeaten with scores of 14(31) and 13(17), respectively.

India had its moments with Prasidh and Shardul's whirlwind, but England maintained its position in the driver's seat with a flurry of runs to stay at the top. Duckett and Zak Crawley continued to switch through gears, adding to the mounting woes of a beleaguered Indian team.

Jasprit Bumrah looked ineffective, Mohammed Siraj struggled to ask the right questions, and Prasidh Krishna remained in the hunt for his lost rhythm. However, India orchestrated a late comeback with Prasidh and Shardul's moments of magic.

Crawley bid his time with patience and pushed the ball for a single to bring up his hard-fought fifty. It was the first instance of both opening batters hitting 50-plus scores in the fourth innings of a Headingley Test.

The duo went on to raise an unbeaten 156-run partnership, the highest opening partnership in the fourth innings of a home Test for England, surpassing 154 between Geoffrey Boycott and Mike Brearley against Australia in Nottingham in 1977.

As the session progressed, a faint opportunity crossed India's path when Siraj forced a top edge from Ben Duckett, which traversed to Yashasvi Jaiswal, stationed at the deep backward square leg.

Jaiswal, already guilty of spilling three opportunities, had a shot at redeeming himself. He positioned himself well but tantalisingly floored the ball to leave Duckett a lifeline on 97, leaving Siraj livid in anguish.

The explosive southpaw made the most of the opportunity and pulled out a reverse sweep to send the ball screaming to the boundary rope. The moment the ball breezed past the line, Duckett leapt and punched his fist in the air to celebrate a special hundred.

Rain intervened and offered India a chance to rejig its plans and push a late comeback in the Test to tip the scales on their side. Prasidh was the glimmer of hope that India yearned for and offered the tourists a moment of reprieve.

Moments after the resumption of play, Prasidh lured a thick outside edge with a late outswing to remove Crawley on 65(126). In his next over, with a touch of reverse swing, Prasidh rattled the timber to remove Ollie Pope cheaply on 8(8).

Joe Root joined Duckett and broke India's rhythm without breaking a sweat. The scoreboard kept ticking as Root used his strength to maintain a constant boundary flow.

Root cleared the boundary rope with a surreal switch hit for an effortless towering maximum. India needed inspiration, and Shardul Thakur became the beacon of hope.

He used all his experience, deceived Duckett with his pace and lured Duckett into depositing the ball to substitute Nitish Reddy. On the next ball, Harry Brook ambled down the crease, looking to flick the ball, but gave away a faint edge to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and returned with a golden duck.

When India stood in a position to make inroads into England's middle order, rain intervened yet again to force an early tea.

In the first session, England steadily built on their platform and went into lunch at 117 without loss, needing a further 254 runs for victory and a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series. Crawley and Duckett batted with composure and control, blunting the Indian attack.

Duckett was the more aggressive of the two, racing to 64 off 89 balls with eight boundaries. Crawley, anchoring the innings, remained unbeaten on 42 off 93 deliveries, including four boundaries. The pair brought up the 50-run partnership in 16.2 overs and crossed the 100 mark in 24.3 overs, keeping the required run rate in check.

India's bowling attack failed to make any breakthroughs in the session. Jasprit Bumrah bowled tightly and conceded just 21 runs in his 9 overs, but also dropped a tough return catch off Crawley that could have provided the much-needed opening. Mohammed Siraj gave away 23 runs from eight overs, while Ravindra Jadeja kept things tidy with figures of 4-0-9-0. However, both Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur proved expensive, Krishna leaking 38 runs from his six overs and Thakur conceding 17 runs in just three.

Brief scores: India 471 & 364 (KL Rahul 137, Rishabh Pant 118; Josh Tongue 3/72) vs England 269/4 (Ben Duckett 149, Zak Crawley 65; Shardul Thakur 2/28) (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)