Chasing 371, England now need 254 more runs to pull off a record win, with Duckett unbeaten on 64 and Crawley solid on 42.
Jasprit Bumrah bowled a fiery spell, troubling both batters and beating Duckett once with a superb off-cutter. However, the rest of the Indian pace attack – Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, and Shardul Thakur – lacked consistency and failed to maintain pressure. England capitalised, punishing anything full or short, and scored 96 runs in the session without much trouble.
Duckett’s cover drive off Prasidh and Crawley’s proactive footwork summed up England’s intent. With a heavy roller flattening the pitch, Ravindra Jadeja found little help in terms of spin or bounce. India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel was seen passing instructions, but the support bowlers remained ineffective. Bumrah even missed a return catch chance off Crawley.
India’s lines and lengths need immediate improvement in the second session, or the ghosts of Edgbaston 2022 — where England chased 378 — could come back to haunt them.
