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Key Points

England seized control on Day 2 with Gus Atkinson's five-wicket haul restricting India to 224. Openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett then smashed 92 runs in quick time before lunch. Crawley remained unbeaten on 52 while Duckett fell for a rapid 43. India's bowlers struggled as England reached 109/1, trailing by just 115 runs at the interval.

Key Points: Gus Atkinson 5-wicket haul and Crawley-Duckett stand put India under pressure

  • Gus Atkinson claims 5/33 to bundle India out for 224
  • Crawley-Duckett put on 92-run aggressive opening stand
  • England reach 109/1 trailing by 115 at lunch
  • India collapse from 204/6 after Nair-Sundar resistance
2 min read

Atkinson, Crawley-Duckett put India on backfoot during first session

England dominate Day 2 session as Atkinson's fifer and Crawley-Duckett's 92-run opening stand leave India trailing by 115 runs at The Oval

"Atkinson (5/33) and Tongue (3/57) were destructive with the ball for England - Match Report"

London, August 1

A five-wicket haul by pacer Gus Atkinson and a quickfire 92-run opening stand by Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley pushed India to the back foot during the first session of the second day of the fifth Test against England at The Oval on Friday.

At the end of the session's play, England was 109/1, with Crawley (52*) and Ollie Pope (12*) unbeaten. They trail by 115 runs.

India kick-started day two at 204/6, with Karun Nair (52*) and Washington Sundar (19*) unbeaten.

The duo started the day on a positive note, with Nair and Sundar getting a boundary each against Josh Tongue in the first over of the day.

Nair did survive a leg-before-wicket against Atkinson, but Josh Tongue got him lbw for 57 in 109 balls, with eight fours. Tongue sprayed it down the leg side and well outside off, but the ball nipped back in sharply and beat the inside edge of Nair's bat to crash into his back pad knee roll. India was 218/7, with the 55-run partnership over between the duo.

Sundar also holed it to the deep square leg in the hands of Jamie Overton, with Tongue getting his wicket for 26 in 55 balls, with three fours. India was 220/8.

Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna were done away with by Atkinson, who got his five-wicket haul. India was bundled out for 224 runs in 69.4 overs.

Atkinson (5/33) and Tongue (3/57) were destructive with the ball for England, never letting India settle with a massive partnership.

In their first innings, England was off to a fine start, with openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett putting on a masterclass in aggression.

Crawley found plenty of boundaries against Siraj in the first five overs, while Duckett unleashed some carnage against Akash Deep, hitting him for three fours in the sixth over. A ramp over the covers by Duckett at the end of the seventh over brought up England's fifty-run mark.

Duckett and Crawley also did not spare Prasidh Krishna, hitting him for some boundaries till Akash Deep got Duckett caught behind by Dhruv Jurel for 43 in 38 balls, with five fours and two sixes. England was 92/1 in 12.5 overs.

England reached the 100-run mark in 14.4 overs.

Crawley also reached his 19th Test fifty with a four against Akash Deep in 42 balls, with 12 fours.

Crawley and Ollie Pope made sure England did not lose any wicket till session ended.

Brief Scores: England: 109/1 (Zak Crawley 52*, Ben Duckett 43, Akash Deep 1/46) vs India.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

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Priya M
Gus Atkinson was simply brilliant today! That 5-wicket haul shows why England keeps producing quality fast bowlers. Our batsmen had no answers to his swing and seam movement. Tough day for Team India 🇮🇳
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Aryan K
Crawley-Duckett partnership was fire today 🔥 They made our bowling look ordinary. Where was the discipline in line and length? Prasidh Krishna needs to go back to domestic cricket and work on his consistency.
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Sarah B
As an England supporter in India, I must say this was clinical cricket from our boys! But let's not get ahead of ourselves - India has shown they can bounce back strongly. Test cricket at its best!
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Nikhil R
Washington Sundar showed some promise but threw his wicket away. These all-rounders need to take more responsibility when the team is in trouble. Hope our bowlers can pull things back in the next session!
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Divya P
The way Duckett was playing, it was like watching T20 cricket in a Test match! Our bowlers need to come up with better plans against these aggressive openers. Maybe some short-pitched stuff would help?
K
Karan T
Respect to Karun Nair for his gritty 57 under pressure. At least someone showed some fight in the Indian batting lineup

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