England needed a mammoth 371 to secure victory in the opening test of the five-match series vs India at Headingley, but a Ben Duckett century set the foundations for a memorable win
England produced another miracle at Headingley to beat India and take a 1-0 lead in their five-match series at India. Ben Stokes ‘ side needed a mammoth 371 to overcome the visitors, the third highest total ever chased in England.
But after a magnificent Ben Duckett century, Joe Root and Jamie Smith guided the hosts home to win by five wickets on another memorable day in Leeds. Headingley has been witness to some of English cricket’s greatest victories, including Ashes wins over Australia in 1981 and the Stokes-inspired escape act in 2019.
And this victory will rank right up there after five days of utterly enthralling cricket. Stokes won the toss all the way back on Friday morning, controversially putting India in to bat under blue skies and a baking sun.
At 430-4, that decision looked to be a spectacularly bad one, only for the Indian tail to collapse, with the final seven wickets falling for just 41 runs. England then managed to effectively regain parity with their first-innings effort, trailing by just six runs.
It was a similar story in India’s second innings, with their established batters piling on the runs, notably KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant who both scored glorious centuries. But like in their first efforts, the lower order capitulated from 287-3 to all out for 364.
That gave the hosts a glimpse – albeit a marginal one with chasing 372, with only two higher totals than that ever reached in England. But openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley set the foundation with a 188-run opening partnership, which included a majestic 149 from the former.
A cluster of Indian wickets then brought them back in the game, reducing England to 253-4, still needing another 119 runs for victory. And after Stokes was sent on his way, it was down to Root and Smith to guide England home.
But the pair navigated the end of the chase perfectly, with Smith smashing a pair of sixes to bring England another remarkable win of the Bazball era.