England were left in a spin after Zak Crawley’s battling 79 as their final assignment on a long tour of India threatened to go awry in Dharamsala.
Seeking a consolation win in a series they trail 3-1, England endured a chastening opening day to the fifth Test after crumbling from 137 for two before Crawley’s dismissal to 218 all out in 57.4 overs.
From 175 for three, England lost Jonny Bairstow, on his 100th Test, Joe Root and Ben Stokes in eight deliveries, the first three of five wickets to fall for eight runs in a frenzied afternoon session.
The most recent first-class match at the HPCA Stadium saw all 36 wickets fall to seam but it was the spinners in clover on a turning pitch as Kuldeep Yadav collected five for 72 and Ravichandran Ashwin, also celebrating his 100th Test, polished off the lower order to finish with four for 51.
India rubbed salt into the wound through Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 57 off 58 balls while fellow opener Rohit Sharma went to stumps on 52 not out as the hosts closed on 135 for one – just 83 adrift of England.
Crawley had earlier shown plenty of grit after being tested by seamers and spinners alike and gradually gained fluency before Kuldeep found prodigious turn to prise him out. England seemed unable to pick the left-arm wrist-spinner’s variations as Ollie Pope, Bairstow and Stokes all fell to the googly.
Before play, a tearful Bairstow stood with his mother, sister and partner who held their infant child at an emotional cap presentation conducted by Root in the team huddle.
While Shoaib Bashir was fit to play, Ollie Robinson remained unwell which meant England assistants and ex-internationals Marcus Trescothick, 48, and Paul Collingwood, 47, were among fielding substitutes.
Stokes’ prediction this week of an “absolute belter” of a batting strip was not initially borne out as Crawley and Ben Duckett were given a working over by the returning Jasprit Bumrah, as well as Mohammed Siraj, who exploited extravagant seam movement in the cooler conditions of the Himalayan foothills.
Bumrah may have wondered how he ended his spell with 7-1-24-0 despite often challenging the outside edges of both openers. Kuldeep had no such misfortune as Duckett undid his good work by hoicking into the air on 27 and Shubman Gill’s over-the-shoulder diving catch ended a 64-run opening stand.
Pope was again skittish and misguidedly advanced to Kuldeep in the final over before lunch, deceived and stumped by wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel by a long way for 11.
Crawley, though, had success off front and back foot as all 11 fours were through the offside while he danced down the wicket to Ashwin and dispatched him for six.
India failed to detect a thin edge when Crawley was on 61 after lunch while Jadeja shelled a caught-and-bowled chance on 78 but there was no third reprieve for the opener, who missed a big drive and was castled by a ripping Kuldeep delivery that landed outside off and crashed into leg stump.
Bairstow’s frenetic 29 off 18 balls included two sixes as he moved past 6,000 Test runs and a drop off Kuldeep, who then outfoxed the Yorkshireman with a wrong’un which grazed the edge on the way to Jurel.
Bairstow reviewed in vain, as did Root after he was beaten on the inside edge and struck on the front pad for 26 in Jadeja’s next over. When Stokes turned to DRS after playing back to Kuldeep, the on-field lbw decision was again upheld and England’s captain departed for a six-ball duck.
England lost their middle-order engine room in eight balls and used all their reviews, with Ashwin sweeping in to hoover up the tail after Ben Foakes’ 24 took the tourists past 200.
England’s bid for quick wickets to put pressure back on India was hampered by James Anderson and Mark Wood being unable to find anything resembling the assistance Bumrah and Siraj had in the morning.
Rohit settled into his work by using Wood’s express pace against him with a meaty pull for six off a bumper before overturning a caught-behind decision on 20 after Anderson thought he had strangled India’s captain down leg.
The in-form Jaiswal was watchful against England’s two seamers but peeled off three mighty sixes in four balls when Bashir came into the attack.
Jaiswal continued to attack but succumbed to a rush of blood and was stumped off Bashir but Rohit and Shubman Gill, unbeaten on 26, finished strongly.
Turning the tide: Windies captain Powell cautiously optimistic about comeback in T20 series against England
Though facing an uphill task in their five-match T20 series against England, West Indies captain Rovman Powell is cautiously optimistic that they can produce a comeback to not only overturn a challenging 2-0 deficit but to go all the way in the series.
Powell’s sentiments served as a rallying cry of sorts as they stare down a must-win situation in the third encounter at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia on Thursday to keep the series alive.
Still, Powell expressed confidence that the Caribbean setting, coupled with a few strategic changes, will bolster their fightback.
“St. Lucia is always a good place for us. It provides an opportunity for us to play good cricket, and the wicket is generally a good one, probably the best one in the Caribbean,” Powell said in a pre-game interview.
“The people of St Lucia always come out to support us, which is also good, and so we're looking forward to the next three games. Hopefully they can come out and support us, and we can deliver some good cricket,” he added.
After two tough matches in Barbados, which England won by eight wickets and seven wickets, respectively, Powell emphasized the significance of a renewed focus while also pointing to the need for every player to take personal accountability heading into the crucial contest.
“I think it’s a case of each guy reflecting on how things have gone so far from an individual perspective to see if we as individuals are bringing enough to the table, and then we try our best to try to put it together as a team. We have areas that definitely need work, but the guys are in good spirits. We had a good training session today, so we’re hoping to hit the ground running,” Powell explained.
St Lucia is not only familiar territory but also presents a new beginning, especially with the return of key pacer Alzarri Joseph from a two-match suspension.
Powell believes Joseph’s presence will fortify a bowling attack that has struggled in the opening games, as England easily chased down 182 and 158 in both games.
“If you should look at our bowling department, we really needed him in those games. So, it's important for him to come and hit the straps and hit the ground running. As a bowling group, we have areas where we need to control the power play because the middle overs generally take care of themselves, and he will come to bowl some of those overs in the backend,” he shared.
Despite the uphill battle, Powell cited the Caribbean side’s recent successes over the past 18 months as a reminder of their potential.
“It's a little uncomfortable being 2-0 to be honest; it's a position that we haven't found ourselves in in a long time, but it's an opportunity for us to show what we are made of as a T20 team,” Powell declared.
“England is a team that we have played quite often these days, and we have had good results against them. It's just unfortunate that Barbados wasn't good for us in terms of T20 cricket, but St Lucia provides a new opportunity for us to come out and play some good cricket,” the Jamaican reasoned.
Finally, Powell reiterated the importance of a victory on Thursday, not only to stay in the series but also to set the stage for an exhilarating weekend of cricket. The final two encounters are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
“It's a case of us getting back into the series; we just need a win, and once we get the win tomorrow, we can go from there. The guys are upbeat; even though we are 2-0 down, they are in a good frame of mind and ready to play good cricket,” the captain ended.
Tilak's unbeaten ton helps India take lead against South Africa
Tilak Varma smashed an unbeaten 107 as India went 2-1 up in their T20I series against South Africa, claiming a nail-biting victory in Wednesday's third match in Centurion.
Following their surprise defeat in Sunday's second match, the tourists bounced back to earn their 10th win in their last 12 outings in the format, putting them on the brink of a series triumph.
Tilak was the star of the show as he produced comfortably the best score of his T20I career, surpassing a knock of 55 versus Bangladesh last year in some style, while only facing 56 balls.
He hit eight fours and seven maximums to set South Africa a target of 220 for victory, with Abhishek Sharma scoring 50 from 25 deliveries in support before Keshav Maharaj broke their partnership in the ninth over.
Despite six of India's batsmen scoring 18 runs or fewer and four – Sanju Samson (0), Suryakumar Yadav (1), Rinku Singh (8) and Axar Patel (1) – being limited to single figures, the damage had largely been done already.
South Africa were then dropped to 84-4 within their first 10 overs as Varun Chakravarthy claimed the crucial wickets of Reeza Hendricks (12) and Aiden Markram (29).
Heinrich Klaasen's incredible 54 off 17 balls dragged South Africa back into contention, and they required 18 runs from four deliveries in a grandstand finish, but Arshdeep Singh trapped the hosts' dangerman lbw to secure India's victory.
Having fallen short of their target by just 11 runs, the Proteas must now win Friday's fourth match to salvage a 2-2 draw from the series.
Data Debrief: Big-hitting India on the brink
Tilak recorded a strike rate of 191.07 while Abhishek was at 200.00 as their early partnership powered India towards victory.
India have now hit over 200 sixes in T20I matches this calendar year, only previously surpassing that figure in the format in one previous year – recording 289 in 2022.
Kusal and Avishka centuries take series opener for Sri Lanka
Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando guided Sri Lanka to a 45-run victory via the DLS Method in the first match of their ODI series against New Zealand on Wednesday.
On a rain-soaked day, the hosts ended their eight-match losing streak at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium with a dominant display from start to finish.
After electing to bat, Sri Lanka were dealt an early blow when Pathum Nissanka (12) was caught by Nathan Smith from Jacob Duffy's delivery in the second over.
However, Kusal would join Avishka at the crease and put the hosts in control, with the pair putting on a 206-run stand.
The duo's contribution formed the bulk of Sri Lanka's 324-5, with Sadeera Samarawickrama (five), Charith Asalanka (40) and Janith Liyanage (12 not out) concluding their innings.
New Zealand started well in their run chase through Will Young (35) and Tim Robinson (35) before the latter was stumped by Mendisb Theekshana in the 13th over.
That kickstarted the tourists' collapse, with the dismissals of Young, Henry Nicholls (six), Mark Chapman (two) and Glenn Phillips (nine) leaving New Zealand 110-5 after 17 overs.
Michael Bracewell's 34 from 32 deliveries steadied the ship somewhat but the damage had been done, with the tourists falling short of their target by 45 runs.
Data Debrief: It's coming home
Sri Lanka have won five of their last six multi-game bilateral men’s ODI series (L1), including each of their last two, and they got off to a perfect start in Dambulla.
The Lions' victory was their first in the format at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium since a seven-wicket win against Pakistan back in August 2014.
They were helped by Kusal's knock of 143 from 128 deliveries, which was his fourth ODI century but his first on home soil since 2020.
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