Picture Credit: X
In the first session on day two of fifth Test at The Oval in London, England managed to bowl out India for 224 runs after taking four quick wickets, with Gus Atkinson completing yet another fifer on his return to the side. With that, England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley employed the “Bazball” attacking method to full effect in tough batting conditions, to get their team off to a flying start in the first innings.
While Zak Crawley got some loose deliveries to put away in the early phase of his innings from Mohammed Siraj, his opening partner Ben Duckett found it tough to tackle Akash Deep with the new ball. It led to Duckett changing his strategy against Deep, going into proper hitting mode, using the scoops and charging down the track, to find some boundaries in quick succession, changing the complexion of his innings completely.
During the 13th over of England innings, when the opening stand had reached 92 runs, Ben Duckett attempted yet another reverse scoop shot on the bowling of Akash Deep, but this time around, he could only find wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel. After scoring 43 off 38 with five fours and two sixes, Duckett started walking back to the pavilion upon his dismissal when Deep came towards him before he put his arm around him and talked for a few seconds in one of the most hilarious send-offs of all-time.
Watch the video here:
In the clip of the wicket shared on the official X account by Star Sports India, one of the commentators remarked that Duckett had reportedly told Deep that he won’t be able to dismiss him, which gives a clue to the reason for the send-off.
Below are the playing XIs of England and India for the fifth Test at The Oval in London:
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
