India v England: fifth Test, day one – live | England in India 2024

WICKET! England 100-2 (Pope st Jurel b Kuldeep 11)

25th over: England 99-1 (Crawley 60, Pope 11) There he goes; there he is goes. Crawley jumps down the track to drive Ashwin for a handsome straight six. He’s scored 22 from his last 10 deliveries against the spinners.

“Ali is right,” says Daniel McDonald, “Roxette really were into cricket:

It must have been glove, so it’s over now /
I had a review, but I lost it somehow/

Lay a whisper on my willow/
Leave the winter on the Dharamsala ground

I wake up lonely, due to the peripatetic nature of global franchise cricket /
In the change room and all around

24th over: England 90-1 (Crawley 52, Pope 10) Crawley laces Kuldeep down the ground for four to reach another half-century, his fourth of the series, from 64 balls. He had a lot of luck against Bumrah in particular but has played some beautiful drives and is looking more comfortable against the spinners.

Right here, right now, Zak Crawley – the man who was ridiculed almost constantly throughout 2021 and 2022 – is England’s best batter. It was just banter though so it’s fine.

“Hello from Dharamsala,” says Tom King. “From almost behind the bowler’s arm at the North end, this pitch looks less quick than previewed and there have been a few that have stopped in the pitch or kept low.

“I think India have certainly been too short, but until Duckett played that unnecessary swipe they were also faced with some pretty obdurate stuff. Crawley especially seems to have come on a lot for someone who claimed he didn’t need to work on a defensive technique. It would be nice to see England bat for a full day…”

Steady on!

23rd over: England 84-1 (Crawley 47, Pope 9) England take nine from Ashwin’s over. Pope flicked through midwicket for three, then Crawley sliced a drive semi-deliberately over cover for four. They’ve been under pressure all morning and they’re still going at 3.645 per over.

22nd over: England 75-1 (Crawley 42, Pope 5) India’s spinners have started well, with excellent control. Do they ever bowl badly? Crawley relieves the burgeoning pressure by threading a classy drive through extra cover for four. Mr Consistent is into the forties agian.

Crawley is not out! It wasn’t close at all and would have missed on both height and line.

It was a classic delivery from Kuldeep, spinning back in from outside off stump. Crawley pushed forward defensively and was beaten on the inside. I think this is really close, though it might be umpire’s call on leg stump.

India review for LBW against Crawley! This looks very close. He might be saved by the height.

21st over: England 70-1 (Crawley 38, Pope 4) Three singles from Ashwin’s over. Both England batters are in their danger zone: Pope at the start of the innings, when he is usually very fidgety, and Crawley in unconverted-start territory. They have around 20 minutes to bat until lunch. I was going to say ‘survive’ but they don’t really think like that, do they. In fact, who is today’s designated lunchhawk.

20th over: England 67-1 (Crawley 37, Pope 2) Kuldeep zips one across Pope and past the outside edge. Another delivery keeps a bit low and is pushed into the leg side for a single.

“Interesting observation about the Indian bowling possibly being just a touch too short this morning,” writes Brian Withington. “If that analysis is correct, I wonder to what extent the prior aggression of England’s openers during this series has contributed to the bowlers not risking a slightly fuller length?”

That’s a very good point. I’ll text JB at lunchtime to ask.

19th over: England 66-1 (Crawley 37, Pope 1) Pope pushes with stiff wrists at his first ball, from Ashwin, which flies just past short leg at catchable height. He’s had the kind of series we may not fully understand for a few years: 1, 196, 23, 23, 39, 3, 0, 0, 1*

18th over: England 64-1 (Crawley 36, Pope 0) That Duckett shot didn’t look great, especially after all that hard work. But I get the impression England feel they have to try to dominate Kuldeep. If he gets into a groove – as he did on the third day of the last two Tests – he can become irresistible.

Kuldeep Yadav has struck in his first over, and all Duckett’s patience was for nothing. Both batsmen had hit boundaries earlier in Kuldeep’s over, Duckett with a superb back-foot straight drive. He wanted more, though, and sliced the last ball of the over high on the air on the off side. Gill charged back from cover, watched the ball over his shoulder and took an outstanding running catch with both hands.

WICKET! England 64-1 (Duckett c Gill b Kuldeep 27)

17th over: England 55-0 (Crawley 31, Duckett 23) This is comfortably, by almost 1.5 runs per over I think, the slowest 50+ partnership that Duckett and Crawley have put together. That’s largely because of the conditions and the bowling but I also think it’s another of sign of England’s slight change in approach.

Crawley tries to get things moving by walking down the pitch to Ashwin, but he doesn’t get to the pitch and pads the ball wide of short leg.

16th over: England 53-0 (Crawley 30, Duckett 22) Siraj’s long spell continues; this is his eighth over. The ball isn’t moving as extravagantly now, in the air or off the pitch, although he still finds enough to go past Crawley’s outside edge. Crawley played the line and, unlike Duckett, would tell you it was a leave.

“I think Brendon McCullum is at the decks,” writes our man Ali Martin. “This blend of power ballads and the like is very much in his V.”

Dadrock is dead, long live Bazrock.

15th over: England 51-0 (Crawley 29, Duckett 21) Ravichandran Ashwin, playing his 100th Test, comes on to replace Jasprit Bumrah. His cricket brain will have been whirring ever since the team arrived in Dharamsala, exploring the best way to bowl in these conditions.

Duckett signals his intent with a premeditated scoop for four off the second ball. That’s a brave shot given his struggles against Ashwin, which have extended to this series despite Duckett’s obvious improvement.

14th over: England 47-0 (Crawley 29, Duckett 17) India would love a third seamer this morning. The consensus on the TV coverage, both in the commentary box in Dharamsala and the studio in London, is that India have bowled slightly too short – a “pretty length”.

Siraj continues to hit that length, and then drops one short to beat Crawley’s attempted pull and ping him in the ribs. A maiden. Both batters have faced 42 balls.

“I was born not a million miles from Dharamsala and sources in the area tell me the groundsman asked the Dalai Lama what kind of pitch he wanted,” writes Deepak Puri. “One with grass? One with cracks. ‘Make me one with everything’, he replied.”

Honk!

13th over: England 47-0 (Crawley 29, Duckett 17) Yet another near miss, with Duckett edging Bumrah between third slip and gully for four. He’s beaten twice after that as well. The second was arguably a leave, though Duckett – unlike every other batter alive – will be claiming the play and miss.

If we ever write The Joy of Six: Wicketless Spells, this one from Bumrah will be a strong contender. There are lies, damned lies and bowling figures of 7-1-24-0.

That’s drinks.

12th over: England 43-0 (Crawley 29, Duckett 13) England have been very lucky this morning, though you can argue they have made some of that luck with their relatively low-risk approach. Or would they be 80 for none had they started swinging? I haven’t a clue any more.

“Rob, good morning,” says John Starbuck. “A question for the rain break when it happens: have there been any five-Test series during which every available day saw play in full?”

Cripes, I’ve no idea how you’d research that. Do you mean that every Test went to a fifth day? Or just that they were completed? If it’s the latter, I wonder about West Indies 5-0 England in 1985-86.

Crawley is not out! It’s umpire’s call – on line rather than height – so Crawley survives.

India review for LBW against Crawley!

Crawley softens his hands to ensure an edge fall short of third slip, then thumps another elegant drive between extra cover and mid-off for four. Somehow, and I don’t really know how, he has made it to 29.

That might be where the story ends because India have gone upstairs for LBW. Crawley whipped around a big inswinger and was hit on the pad. Looks highish but India are very confident.

11th over: England 37-0 (Crawley 24, Duckett 12) Duckett is started to look more assured in defence, which is notable for two reasons: the assurance and the defence. This is the most cautious innings he has played since returning to the Test side, but it makes perfect sense given the quality of the bowling. As if to prove the point, Bumrah ends another high-class over with a beauty that beats Duckett’s defensive push.

“Just had this over the PA,” writes Ali Martin. “Shame they didn’t wait for a bat-pad. It must have been glove, etc.”

10th over: England 35-0 (Crawley 23, Duckett 11) Crawley moves into the twenties with a stately drive to the left of mid-off for four. That’s one of his strengths, the ability to stick to his gameplan even when he’s riding his luck like Willie Shoemaker.

Despite all those false strokes, Crawley has reached double figures for the 14th consecutive innings. These are his Test scores since the start of last summer: 56, 12*, 61, 7, 48, 3, 33, 44, 189, 22, 73, 20, 31, 76, 73, 15, 11, 42, 60, 19*. He might be the first player in Test history to have gone rogue by becoming consistent.

9th over: England 30-0 (Crawley 19, Duckett 10) This is stunning bowling from Bumrah. Crawley mistimes three strokes, all in the air – through point for four, past Bumrah’s right hand and then over mid-off. He gets eigh

Eight runs from the over, which is a bit of a scandal. Bumrah and Crawley break into big smiles, which is quite sweet. Bumrah is a particularly fascinating character. You don’t get many happy-go-lucky geniuses in life, never mind cricket.

“Lovely to see Jonny Bairstow’s mum Janet in that picture as he starts his 100th Test,” writes Rocket. “Sad to remember the tragic passing of Jonny’s dad David, who came here to Australia in the 1978-79 tour. He was a real character – my favourite memory of him from that tour was a one day game at the MCG. He was batting with Mike Brearley I think, and one of them hit a ball to one of the very long square boundaries with no fielders anywhere near it.

“From memory they had run five and Brearley turned for the sixth – David Bairstow had run past the crease for his fifth, then realised Brearley was also coming to his end and so he just kept running to the race at the Members’ Stand – but was able to laugh it off as he did! Janet has done a wonderful job raising Jonny and Andy. She deserves a medal.”

The memory on you!

8th over: England 22-0 (Crawley 11, Duckett 10) Duckett cloths Siraj not far short of the man at square leg. Another challenging over ends with Duckett missing a vigorous slap outside off stump. That’s a rare attacking stroke in an unusually restrained partnership. Don’t tell me Bazball is growns up now.

7th over: England 20-0 (Crawley 11, Duckett 8) What the hell was that? Crawley, trying to whip to leg, is beaten by a spectacular delivery from Bumrah that straightens dramatically and bounces over middle stump. It was so brilliant that nobody really knew what had happened. For a second it looked like India might review in the hope Bumrah would be given a wicket for artistic merit.

Crawley edges for four, just wide of the diving slip, then plays and misses again. Bumrah has bowled outrageously well this morning.

6th over: England 16-0 (Crawley 7, Duckett 8) That’s the first big shot from Duckett, a hearty clump through extra cover for four when Siraj loses his line.

Meanwhile the DJ is having a cracking time, with this the latest offering.

5th over: England 12-0 (Crawley 7, Duckett 4) All the England players, including the next man in Ollie Pope, are sheltering in puffer jackets on the balcony. He could be in sooner than than later because India are bowling marvellously. Duckett plays and misses at another extravagant outswinger, then squints as if to say, ‘The hell do I do with that’.

Duckett flicks an inswinger through midwicket for three, a relatively low-risk shot. The end of the over brings a slightly unnerving blast of Another Day in Paradise from Phil Collins over the tannoy.

“What a venue this is,” writes Brian Withington, surveying his living room with pride. “Let’s hope the cricket lives up to the spectacular views, despite the chilly conditions. Perhaps the (hot) drinks trolley will descend from one of the pavillion towers in a cable car?”

4th over: England 9-0 (Crawley 7, Duckett 1) Duckett pushes an inswinger from Siraj just short of the fielder imaginatively stationed at a very short midwicket. He eventually gets off the mark from his 11th ball, clipping a single off the pad. Siraj ends another excellent over by shaping an outswinger past Crawley’s defensive push.

It’s notable that England haven’t yet tried to put any pressure back on India. I’ll let you decide whether that’s sensible batting or a betrayal of Bazball.

3rd over: England 8-0 (Crawley 7, Duckett 0) A brilliant second over from Bumrah, who is swinging the new ball prodigiously and beats Duckett twice in three balls. The second was a comedy jaffa, the kind only Bradman might have nicked. Batting looks pretty tough because of the movement in the air.

“What a venue!” says Andrew Crossley. “Evening, Rob (it’s 9pm in Colorado). Travelogue with cricket chucked in feels right as I watch the pictures of the ground’s grandeur. Then I see YJB’s 100-cap presentation, remember it might be the match where Jimmy – always good Jimmy this past dozen years or so – reaches 700, and see Bumrah with a new nut. Cricket a bit more than a sideshow…”

2nd over: England 7-0 (Crawley 7, Duckett 0) Crawley has been England’s best batsmen across the two big series against Australia and India. He’s made 812 runs, almost 200 more than the next best (Ben Duckett with 635), and has become admirably, confusingly consistent.

Crawley times an imperious cover drive for four off Mohammad Siraj, though he’s beaten either side of that stroke. Both deliveries swung dangerously away from the right-hander, which will encourage all four quick bowlers.

1st over: England 3-0 (Crawley 3, Duckett 0) Bumrah goes through his repertoire in the first over. A few wider deliveries to set up the inswinger. Crawley defends that a little awkwardly, ignores an outswinger and then flicks an inswinger for three to get off the mark.

“Been thinking about the dominance of the top three in world cricket,” says Digvijay Yadav. “Obviously it has its own negative ramifications, but the fact that the three play five-Test series against each other and play at such a great intensity is something to behold. Both the Ashes just gone by and this one have been riveting (and a Test here or there could have put them on par with 2005 but not to be).”

They’ve been great fun, and they all play each other again in the next two years. But the bigger picture of Test cricket is – excuse the lack of profundity, it’s 4.05am – in a right state.

Oi! Wake up! It’s almost time for the final act of a terrific series.

Mood music

The pitch looks a cracker – hord and forst, as Tony Greig used to say, so the match should rattle along at a good pace. That said, I’m not sure I’d fancy facing Jasprit Bumrah on a trampoline at altitude.

This is a landmark match for Ravichandran Ashwin and Jonny Bairstow, who will become the 77th and 78th men to play 100 Tests. We’ll let them decide who should be No77, perhaps with an arm-wrestle.

Bairstow has been taking on the world ever since his painful debut series against Kemar Roach in 2012. At times he has been a Jos-Buttler-bat-handle-slogan on legs. That rage has fuelled many of his greatest performances, including the century against India that probably saved England from World Cup humiliation in 2019.

When Bairstow retires, everyone will have a different memory of his career. It might be the deep purple patch of 2022, the heartbreaking near miss at Lord’s in 2012, the aggressively deadpan gum-chewing after he has pannelled some poor sucker into the crowd. Or it might be what happens in the next five days.

Team news: Paddikal makes Test debut

England win the toss and bat

Weatherwatch It’s around 7 degrees – but it’s dry, so play should start on time.

Read Ali Martin’s preview

Shoaib Bashir, who was isolating yesterday due to an upset stomach, is fit to play. Ollie Robinson is still at the team hotel, though, so Marcus Trescothick and Paul Collingwood have been officially registered as substitute fielders. Jimmy Anderson might not be the only fortysomething on the field in this game.

India’s XI hasn’t been confirmed, but Jasprit Bumrah will return to zing the ball through at altitude. Either Akash Deep or Kuldeep Yadav are likely to drop out, though that would be hard on Kuldeep after a brilliant series.

India (probable) Jaiswal, Rohit (c), Gill, Patidar, Jadeja, Sarfaraz, Jurel (wk), Ashwin, Kuldeep/Deep, Bumrah, Siraj.

England Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Bairstow, Stokes (c), Foakes (wk), Hartley, Wood, Bashir, Anderson.

Preamble