Sports
Duckett leads bold England reply with blazing hundred
Visitors score 207 for the loss of two wickets; Ashwin out of Test due to ‘family emergency’
February 17, 2024 | 12:03 AM
Opener Ben Duckett smashed an 88-ball hundred to lead England’s robust reply to India’s first innings total of 445 on day two of the third Test in Rajkot on Friday.The opener’s 133 not out off 118 balls, which contained two sixes and 21 fours, powered England to 207-2 at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.Ravichandran Ashwin became the second Indian bowler, after Anil Kumble, to claim 500 Test wickets but it was otherwise a day of hard toil for India as England scored nearly at a run-a-ball rate.Joe Root was batting on nine at stumps with England trailing India by 238 in the third match of the five-Test series, which remains poised at 1-1.Earlier, debutant Dhruv Jurel (46) and Ashwin (37) mounted a spirited rearguard while Jasprit Bumrah (26) provided a late cameo to take India near the 450-mark.After India resumed on 326-5, James Anderson removed Thursday’s nightwatchman Kuldeep Yadav, caught behind for four.Ravindra Jadeja, who completed his fourth Test hundred on day one, looked surprisingly tentative and gave a return catch to bowler Root to depart after 112, which included two sixes and nine fours.Ashwin and Jurel frustrated England with their 77-run partnership and survived Mark Wood’s short-ball barrage with a heavily-manned leg side.England were rather sloppy on the field and Jurel was dropped twice, first by Ollie Pope at midwicket and then by England captain Ben Stokes at leg slip.Rehan Ahmed denied Jurel a fifty in the batter’s debut test and Wood (4-114) dismissed Bumrah, who was the last Indian wicket to fall. The tourists began their innings 5-0 after India were penalised five runs for Ashwin’s run on the protected area down the middle of the pitch.Duckett initially looked ill at ease against Mohamed Siraj’s lively pace but he soon grew in confidence, which was obvious in the way he treated the Indian spinners. He raced to a 39-ball fifty but lost opening partner Zak Crawley.Crawley attempted a sweep shot against Ashwin only to top-edge the ball to Rajat Patidar at short fine leg.Ashwin became the ninth bowler, and fifth spinner, to take 500 Test wickets.Meanwhle India’s R Ashwin withdrew from the ongoing third Test against England on Friday due to "a family medical emergency"."Ravichandran Ashwin has withdrawn from the Test squad, effective immediately due to a family medical emergency," said Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).Off-spinner Ashwin, 37, had dismissed England opener Zak Crawley for 15 in Rajkot to become only the second Indian to reach the 500-wicket milestone after fellow spinner Anil Kumble.SCOREBOARDIndia 1st innings Y. Jaiswal c Root b Wood 10R. Sharma c Stokes b Wood 131S. Gill c Foakes b Wood 0R. Patidar c Duckett b Hartley 5R. Jadeja c and b Root 112S. Khan run out (Wood) 62K. Yadav c Foakes b Anderson 4D. Jurel c Foakes b Ahmed 46R. Ashwin c Anderson b Ahmed 37J. Bumrah lbw b Wood 26M. Siraj not out 3Extras (b2, lb4, nb2, w1) 9Total (all out, 130.5 overs) 445Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Jaiswal), 2-24 (Gill), 3-33 (Patidar), 4-237 (Sharma), 5-314 (Khan), 6-331 (Yadav), 7-331 (Jadeja), 8-408 (Ashwin), 9-415 (Jurel), 10-445 (Bumrah)Bowling: Anderson 25-7-61-1 (nb1), Wood 27.5-2-114-4 (w1, nb1), Hartley 40-7-109-1, Root 16-3-70-1, Ahmed 22-2-85-2England 1st inningsZ. Crawley c Patidar b Ashwin 15B. Duckett not out 133O. Pope lbw b Siraj 39J. Root not out 9Extras (b1, lb1, nb4, pen5) 11Total (2 wickets, 35 overs) 207Still to bat: B. Stokes, J. Bairstow, B. Foakes, R. Ahmed, T. Hartley, M. Wood, J. AndersonFall of wickets: 1-89 (Crawley), 2-182 (Pope)Bowling: Bumrah 8-0-34-0 (nb1), Siraj 10-1-54-1 (nb1), Yadav 6-1-42-0, Ashwin 7-0-37-1, Jadeja 4-0-33-0 (nb2)
February 17, 2024 | 12:03 AM