Credit: X
Star batter Ben Duckett turned out to be a match winner for England on day five as the hosts defeated India by five wickets in the first Test of a five-match series at Headingley, Leeds. The opening batter scored match-winning 149(170) runs as England successfully chased down the target of 371 runs on the final day of the Test. Notably, this was also England’s second highest successful chase in Test cricket.
Starting the day 21 for no loss, England took the innings further as Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett put up an opening partnership of 188 runs. Zak Crawley was first to lose his wicket after scoring 65(126) runs. After that, Crawley added another 47 runs along with Joe Root for the third wicket. After almost taking England down the line, Duckett got out after scoring 149 runs off 170 balls hitting 21 balls and one six.
Joe Root - Jamie Smith add finishing touches for England
After England were reduced to 253/4, Joe Root took charge of the innings along with skipper Ben Stokes as the duo added 49 runs for the fifth wicket. Stokes got out after scoring 33(51) runs hitting four boundaries. After that, Root took the innings further and went on to reach his half-century in 84 balls. The star batter remained unbeaten on 53* runs off 84 balls hitting six boundaries.
Along with Jamie Smith also scored an unbeaten on 44*(55) runs and finished the game with a six as England registered another famous win while chasing a target in Tests. For India, Prasidh Krishan and Shardul Thakur took two wickets each while Ravindra Jadeja put one in his bag in the second innings.
