Kuldeep's double strike leaves England at 100 for two at lunch
Dharamsala (PTI): Zak Crawley made a classy unbeaten half-century after surviving an extended opening spell from the Indian pacers before Kuldeep Yadav struck twice to leave the visitors at 100 for two at lunch on day one of the fifth and final Test here on Thursday.
On expected lines, the skillful duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj made the ball talk but Ben Duckett (27 off 58) and Crawley (61 batting off 71) were able to see 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 the 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.
R Ashwin, playing his 100th Test, was the first change before Kuldeep came to bowl in the 18th over.
Despite being hit for two fours off his first five balls, Kuldeep was not afraid to flight the ball and was rewarded as Duckett's mistimed hit was pouched by Shubman 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 also survived a close DRS call before reaching his fourth half-century of the series with a boundary down the ground.
In the next over, Crawley stepped out to smash Ashwin for a six over long on.
Kuldeep's second strike came at the stroke of lunch as Ollie Pope (11) stepped out only to be beaten by the Indian spinner's googly and to get stumped.
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Attack on Kalaburagi youngster on court premises: Jewargi Police arrest three men
Kalaburagi: Jewargi Police have arrested three people accused of attacking 27-year-old Devendra of Yatnoor village on the premises of a Jewargi court on Wednesday, resulting in the youngster being grievously injured.
The arrested are identified as Siddu Mallappa Police Patil Yatnoor, Shivalingappa and Shreeshail Kurana and all three men are learned to be residents of Yatnoor village. Devendra, who is reportedly under treatment at the Kalaburagi District Hospital, was attacked following an old animosity towards him.
Devendra had been arrested and jailed four months ago for the murder of Sangappa, brother of one of the arrested men, Shivalingappa, but had been let out on bail a couple of months ago as his mother was ill. Meanwhile, however, the youngster reportedly developed a relationship with Shivalingappa’s sister.
Angered by these developments, the arrested men are learned to have severely assaulted Devendra on the court premises and also attempted to make away with him in an auto rickshaw. They intensified their attack on the youngster when he turned resistant, as a result of which, Devendra sustained near-fatal injuries.
