Kuldeep Yadav’s historic masterclass demolishes England in the 5th Test.
Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav saved all his strength for the second session. He was the only Indian bowler and spinner to take 50 Test wickets in the last century.
It was a historic day for India’s Ravichandran Ashwin and England’s Jonny Bairstow. After all, it was their 100th Test match. Both of them had the same instant perception. They can still deliver a winning performance in the second half; Ashwin, for example, didn’t have to wait that long. He cleaned England’s tail but Kuldeep Yadav was undoubtedly the star on the first day of India’s fifth match against England.
Kuldeep Yadav stormed to the top of the England team in the first two sessions with performances that impressed even the best players. The first few wickets are a bit of a gift. Ben Duckett ran after Subman Gill and caught him in the race.
Kuldeep Yadav maintained his personal best in the second session. He was the fastest Indian player to take 50 Test wickets in the last century. He needed just 1871 balls to reach 50 Test wickets. In terms of races completed, he recorded the sixth fastest time by an Indian player along with Subhash Gupte, Elappali Prasanna and Axar Patel.
He also became the third left-arm spinner to take more than 50 Test wickets and the first from India. The other two are South African Paul Adams and Brit Johnny Wardle.
Kuldeep Yadav could have dismissed Zach Crowley (79 off 108) with the second ball of the day but India opted for a batsman instead of using DRS.
The 29-year-old spinner didn’t have to wait long as he swooped down on his imaginary fifth stump and smashed the England opener’s leg-stump. A combination of an inside slide and a sharp turn led to Crowley’s ejection.
Jonny Bairstow, who like Ashwin is celebrating his 100th Test, showed great intent throughout his innings but could not extend his gold. Struggling to understand Kuldeep’s variations like his fellow batsmen, he ended up meeting the weak edge of a deceptive googly.
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Bairstow’s decision to give a review was pointless and reflected the suffering of Joe Root and Ben Stokes, who also squandered their reviews in 175 runs. Jadeja deceived Root with a straighter delivery and secured an LBW dismissal after narrowly avoiding the England batsman’s outside edge on the previous ball.
Stokes was Kuldeep’s fifth victim as he trapped the opposition captain with a forward shot. Kuldeep bowled 10.3 overs during the session. This was Kuldeep ‘s fourth five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
Ashwin then broke England’s tail and finished the game on 51/4. England were eliminated with 218 points.
