Kuldeep Yadav’s twin blow against India puts England at lunchtime at 100 for two in the Dharamsala Test

On the first day of the fifth and final Test here on Thursday, spinner Kuldeep Yadav struck twice to leave the visitors at 100 for two at lunch. Zak Crawley scored a fine, unbroken half-century after weathering a long opening session from the Indian pacers.

The explosive combination of Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah made the ball speak as was anticipated, but despite being repeatedly dismissed, Ben Duckett (27 off 58) and Crawley (61 batting off 71) managed to see the first 14 overs of fast bowling.

On his route to his half-century, Crawley—who has been England’s most impressive batsman in this series—played some lovely cover drives off the pacers while being very deliberate with the shots he chose.

In the morning session, Siraj bowled eight overs and Bumrah bowled seven, both of whom gave up 24 runs.

The first change was R Ashwin, who was playing in his 100th Test match, followed by Kuldeep bowling in the eighteenth over.

Even though he was hit for two fours in his first five balls, Kuldeep did not hesitate to air the ball, and Shubman Gill, who made an incredible grab while sprinting backwards from cover, punished Duckett’s misplayed shot.

Crawley was defeated by the pacers in the opening hour of play, much like Duckett, but he chose the correct balls to show off his cover drives. Before completing his fourth half-century of the series with a boundary down the ground, he also made it through a near DRS call.

Crawley came out to smash Ashwin for a six over far on in the next over.

At the start of lunch, Kuldeep struck again as Ollie Pope (11) walked out, only to be stumped by the Indian spinner’s googly.