Tag: Ben Stokes

IND vs ENG 5th Test: Kuldeep-led Indian bowlers leave England in tailspin

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The fragility of England batters against high-quality spin was exposed once again before India showed them how to bat on a flat track by cruising to 135 for one at stumps on day one of the fifth and final Test here on Thursday. Opting to bat, England were all at sea against the mastery of left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav whose fourth five-wicket haul in Tests allowed India to bowl out the visitors for 218 in their first innings shortly after tea. Playing his 100th Test, R Ashwin cleaned up the tail with four wickets while Ravindra Jadeja took one. Contrary to expectations, all 10 wickets went to the spinners at the scenic HPCA Stadium and the last seven batsmen fell while adding only 43 runs.

India came out to bat in bright sunshine and Rohit Sharma (52 batting off 83 balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (57 off 58b) put the hosts in firm control with a 104-run stand. India reached 135 for one in 30 overs at close. Shubman Gill (26 off 39b) was batting alongside Rohit.

It was the highest opening stand of this series for India and was broken when Jaiswal got a bit carried away to be stumped off Shoaib Bashir after collecting back-to-back boundaries.

The southpaw’s pre-meditated charge down the ground came soon after he became only the second Indian to amass 700 runs in a series after the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, who achieved the feat twice against the West Indies in 1971 and 1978-79.

The ball did not do much for the England pacers and spinners compared to their Indian counterparts. Jaiswal was watchful to start with and waited for the spinners to be in operation. He put Bashir to sword in his very first over by dispatching him for three sixes into the stands, two of them over extra cover.

The Indian skipper, at the other end, too played confidently. He made his intentions clear by pulling a 150kmph rising delivery off Mark Wood over fine leg for six in the fourth over of the innings.

His second maximum came off spinner Tom Hartley in the cow corner region.

However, India’s march to command started in the second session when they reduced the visitors to 194 for eight at tea as Kuldeep engineered a middle-order collapse that saw England lose three wickets for no run.

All of a sudden England found themselves reeling at 175 for six from three down on the same score.

England lost six wickets in the middle session for 94 runs.

Kuldeep could have got rid of Zak Crawley (79 off 108) on the second ball after lunch break but India opted against DRS for a catch.

But the 29-year-old spinner did not have to wait long thereafter as he got one to turn massively from the imaginary fifth stump to shatter the England opener’s leg-stump. Both the inward drift and the sharp turn led to Crawley’s dismissal.

Jonny Bairstow (29 off 19b), who is also playing his 100th Test, showed plenty of intent in his innings but could not last long. Like the other batters, he could not read Kuldeep from his hands and got a faint outside edge off a googly.

He went for a review but ended up wasting it, exactly what Joe Root (26) and Ben Stokes (0) did on the same score of 175. Jadeja trapped Root in front with a straighter one after beating the English batter’s outside edge on the previous ball.

Stokes was the fifth victim of Kuldeep who had the opposition skipper plumb in front with a googly. Kuldeep ended up bowling 15 overs straight on either side of the lunch and afternoon session.

Ashwin sent back Hartley and Wood in quick session to join the spinners’ party. In the morning, Crawley made a classy unbeaten half-century after surviving an extended opening spell from the Indian pacers before Kuldeep struck twice to leave the visitors at 100 for two at lunch.

On expected lines, the skillful duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj made the ball talk but Ben Duckett (27 off 58) and Crawley were able to see off the first 14 overs of fast bowling after being beaten multiple times.

Crawley, who has been England’s stand-out batter in this series, was meticulous with his shot selection and played some delightful cover drives off pacers on way to his half-century.

Siraj ended up bowling eight overs in the morning session and Bumrah seven with both conceding 24 runs.

Kuldeep came to bowl in the 18th over and struck instantly.

Despite being hit for two fours off his first five balls, Kuldeep was not afraid to flight the ball and was rewarded when Duckett’s mistimed hit was pouched by Gill, who took a spectacular catch running backwards from cover. Like Duckett, Crawley too was beaten by the pacers in the first hour of play but he picked the right balls to flaunt his cover drives.

He reached his fourth half-century of the series with a boundary down the ground but that remained the only bright spot for England this day.

Scoreboard

England 1st Innings: Zak Crawley b Kuldeep Yadav 79 Ben Duckett c Shubman Gill b Kuldeep Yadav 27 Ollie Pope st Jurel b Kuldeep Yadav 11 Joe Root lbw b Jadeja 26 Jonny Bairstow c Jurel b Kuldeep Yadav 29 Ben Stokes lbw b Kuldeep Yadav 0 Ben Foakes b Ashwin 24 Tom Hartley c Padikkal b Ashwin 6 Mark Wood c Sharma b Ashwin 0 Shoaib Bashir not out 11 James Anderson c Padikkal b Ashwin 0 Extras: (B-2, LB-1, NB-2) 5

Total: (All out in 57.4 overs) 218

Fall of wickets: 1-64, 2-100, 3-137, 4-175, 5-175, 6-175, 7-183, 8-183, 9-218, 10-218

Indian bowling: Jasprit Bumrah 13-2-51-0, Mohammed Siraj 8-1-24-0, Ravichandran Ashwin 11.4-1-51-4, Kuldeep Yadav 15-1-72-5, Ravindra Jadeja 10-2-17-1.

England wins toss

India’s captain Rohit Sharma and his England’s counterpart Ben Stokes (R) shake hands during the toss before the start of the fifth Test cricket match between India and England at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on March 7, 2024.

India’s captain Rohit Sharma and his England’s counterpart Ben Stokes (R) shake hands during the toss before the start of the fifth Test cricket match between India and England at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on March 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

Proud moment for Ashwin, family and nation: Rohit

Skipper Rohit also said during the toss, “We would have batted first as well. We have done really well so far in this series and an opportunity to finish on a high. There should be a better bounce on this pitch than in the games before in this series. Good pitch to bat on and I don’t think it will deteriorate that much. Ash has been a real stalwart of Indian cricket. Such a proud moment for him, his nation and his family. We will be rooting for him to do the magic. Bumrah is back, and Akash Deep misses out.

Devdutt Padikkal makes his debut as Patidar got injured last evening.”

England (Playing XI):

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes(c), Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes(w), Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, Mark Wood, James Anderson

India (Playing XI):

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravindra Jadeja, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah.

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Nobody can cope with England at their best, says veteran pacer James Anderson

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England veteran pacer James Anderson said that Australia will not be able to cope with England at their very best when they play the prestigious Ashes series, starting from June 16.

Anderson said that they might have to do something different with Australia, but the England team under the leadership of skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum has been able to cope with everything so far. “I am sure we will have to do something slightly differently against Australia because they might have different plays and whatever else. But we have coped with everything that’s been thrown at us so far. It has been exciting,” said Anderson as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

“They are naturally extremely competitive, aggressive when they play. They will have discussed it and have their own plans and own ways of how they are going to cope with it. I just think if we do what we have been doing and play as well as we possibly can, I do not think anyone in the world can cope with it,” added the bowler.

Going to play his 10th Ashes series, Test cricket’s third-highest wicket-taker is confident that England can take the urn from Australia for the first time ever since 2015 with their domineering gameplay which has helped them win 10 out of their last 12 matches under Stokes-McCullum.

Also Read | Bairstow to return from injury for Yorkshire ahead of Ashes

“If you look at our team, if we play to the best of our ability with that mindset, I do not think anyone can cope with us. So yes, I think we can win. I feel like if we can keep the same mentality and the same sort of feeling in the dressing room we have had. It is fairly relaxed, we are trying to enjoy ourselves, we are trying to entertain people, take the positive option,” said Anderson.

In many respects, Australia will be the litmus test for many of the values that England has adopted since the beginning of last summer. A drive to entertain, rather than judging performance purely on winning and losing.

So far, England’s mentality has only been called into question once, when they were defeated by New Zealand in Wellington. They had dominated the second Test for the first three days, forcing the Blackcaps to follow on before succumbing by a single run late in the fourth day. Anderson was the last wicket.

Given the passion of the Ashes, will such generosity fly this summer? Stokes told Sky Sports that if England only needed a draw to win the series, he would declare to give Australia a chase in the last Test at the Oval. Anderson hopes that, in light of Stokes’ words, the attitude and mindset continue at their peak. Especially given the link between playing fearlessly and producing remarkable results.

“We are going to get the same messaging from Brendon and Ben about how we go about playing. I think there will just be a little bit more attention around it because it is an Ashes series. But I just hope we can play the same way because it has been brilliant to be part of,” said Anderson.

“I am excited by the way we’ve been playing, it is about something greater than the outcome. It is about entertaining people and trying to enjoy ourselves while we do it. The end result has been taken away to an extent in the last few months, and I think that focus on ourselves has helped produce performances and produce results,” added the bowler.

Anderson is recovering from a minor groin strain suffered last week during Lancashire’s County Championship encounter against Somerset. While the 40-year-old intends to be totally fit for the Ireland Test at Lord’s on June 1, he will most likely sit out that match to prepare for the Ashes, which begin on June 16 at Edgbaston.

Also Read | Warner makes Ashes squad; Marsh, Harris and Renshaw recalled

Anderson stated that “three or four out of five would be more realistic than five” with those five Tests against Australia spread out over six weeks. It corresponds to Ben Stokes’ prediction that the hosts will need to call on eight seamers this summer. The skipper will have four options for Ireland, with fast Mark Wood likely to sit out the Test with Anderson.

Australia is sort of a last frontier. Victories over New Zealand, India, and South Africa, as well as a 3-0 series win in Pakistan, have seen them outperform all contenders thus far. While a trip to India in early 2024 will provide an intriguing opportunity to assess how an experimental batting style transfers to turning surfaces, this summer’s visiting attack — the best in the world right now – will provide the most severe resistance thus far.

Anderson’s recent home Ashes experiences have not been particularly positive, especially during a period when England has not lost a series on these shores since 2003. He strained his calf on the morning of the opening match of the 2019 season (2-2), and he pulled up during the third Test of the 2015 series, which England won 3-1. One can see why he wants to avoid injury by avoiding the Ireland game.

There were two 4-0 away defeats in between (2017-18 and 2021-22), as well as a 5-0 setback six months following the home triumph in 2013, it was Anderson’s second whitewash that came following a three-appearance tour in 2006-07.”For me, I have voided the last three away. Four out of five, I think,” said Anderson.

Indeed, Anderson was dropped alongside Broad in the most recent debacle in Australia. When Stokes took over as captain, his first item of business was to recall them.

Since then, Anderson has found a fresh lease on life under a skipper who is more concerned with taking wickets than with sustaining run rates. Though the batting has received the most attention, England has taken the full 20 wickets in all of Stokes’ 12 Tests. Anderson, on the other hand, has 45 dismissals at 17.62, putting him just 15 dismissals shy of the 700 mark.

“I am not trying to just bowl into the channel and get him to leave then hope he prods at one in 16 overs time. I am trying to get a wicket every ball. It might sound strange, the whole point of cricket is to get people out as a bowler, but there are different ways of going about it.”

“I love it. I think it is great. I’ve gone from potentially bowling 35 overs in an innings, potentially trying to winkle a few out, to just giving it everything in your spell knowing we are on. There is a better feel, everyone is involved and there are ideas coming from everyone,” added the pacer. Anderson rates Stokes as the best skipper among the eight skippers he has played under during his two-decade-long international cricket career.

“Yeah,” Anderson on if Stokes was the best.”

It is hard to say over a short period of time but he has had an amazing start. I think he is completely different from any captain I have ever played with before and I have really enjoyed it. I cannot fault anything really. I think everyone knew that he was a leader, the way he trains, whether it is the gym or whether it is catching or batting or bowling the way he goes about his business, he is the ultimate professional. The way he plays he leaves everything out there. So he is a born leader.”

“For me, it is the finer details, not just on the field where his tactical nous has been spot on, but also his emotional intelligence off the field and how he talks to everyone in the group. If he needs to put his arm around someone or fire someone up, he has just got a really good way of doing that. And the way he speaks to the group as well is excellent. I have been really impressed,” concluded the pacer.

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