Ben Duckett brilliance puts England in with a chance of sensational Test victory

Independent

6 hours ago

Ben Duckett's majestic 149 put England on course for another round of Headingley heroics as they looked to finish off a remarkable chase against India in the first Test.
Yorkshire's headquarters have witnessed some outrageous spectacles over the years, with Ashes classics in 1981, 2019 and 2023, and England needed another when the tourists set them 371 to win this gripping series opener.
Only once have they ever chased more – 378 against the same opponents at Edgbaston in 2022 – but a sensational knock from Duckett saw them well on the way at 269 for four with one session remaining.
He shared a brilliant opening stand of 188 with Zak Crawley (65) to put England in charge but India dragged themselves back into the fight by dismissing each of the top four in a hard-fought stint between lunch and tea.
Duckett and Harry Brook were out off successive balls from the previously anonymous Shardul Thakur to raise the stakes, leaving Joe Root and Ben Stokes in charge with 102 runs to get.
Duckett hit a morale-boosting boundary off key man Jasprit Bumrah in the first over of the day – one of just three in the first 45 minutes – but also survived a magic ball that jagged past his outside edge by a whisper.
England settled for 42 runs in the opening hour, content to stifle India's own charge, and totalled 96 for the session as they ground down the bowlers.
Duckett twice messed up attempted scoops but responded on each occasion by sending the next ball for four, a clean blow through extra-cover and a swivel pull to reach 50. Crawley was suppressing his own attacking instincts but unleashed a crunching cover drive to bring up the hundred partnership.
India's repeated appeals to change the ball were finally heeded but although the replacement did create a chance – Crawley pushing a low return catch to Bumrah on 42 – it was not held.
The afternoon began with spots of drizzle in the air and the floodlights whirring into action but England's top two pressed ahead. Bumrah stepped up again at the Kirkstall Lane End but leaked a couple of early fours, Duckett threading him down the ground and Crawley whipping square off his hips.
Every wicketless over from the supreme seamer was a win for England, particularly with scoring options opening up at the other end. India were eager to build pressure through Ravindra Jadeja's spin but Duckett's reverse sweep was the perfect weapon to nullify the veteran.
The left-hander reached 97 before putting a foot wrong, top-edging a pull off Mohammed Siraj, but his luck was in as Yashasvi Jaiswal let the greasy ball slip through his fingers. It was a third bad drop of the game for Jaiswal and sympathy was running low from Siraj, who angrily booted the turf.
Duckett accepted the gift, ticking off his hundred with a trademark reverse through cover. Showers forced a 20-minute hiatus and when play resumed, India belatedly found a way into the battle.
Prasidh Krishna was having no luck against Duckett but struck twice in successive overs as he watched from the non-striker's end. Crawley's hard-fought stay ended when he clipped an outswinger to slip and first-innings centurion Ollie Pope was bowled for eight by a sharp cutter.
Meanwhile, on Duckett went. He had an answer for all comers, chopping Krishna past gully, pulling Bumrah precisely between two boundary riders and lashing Jadeja for a remarkable reverse-swept six.
Thakur was an unlikely game-changer but he did the trick for his side, persuading Duckett to pick out the man at cover then having Brook caught behind for a golden duck with a lucky strangler down leg.