Crawley, Duckett lay the platform for England’s 371-run chase

Ben Duckett (64*) and Zak Crawley (42*) guided England to Lunch on Day 5 at 117/0, orchestrating a fine session for the hosts. Amidst windy and overcast conditions, India bookended with session with disciplined bowling but England picked up the pace in the middle to set the tone for their 371-run chase. Having polished 96 off the target in the morning session, England need 254 more to win with all 10 wickets in hand.

The first hour of play witnessed rather uncharacteristic batsmanship from the hosts, mainly due to the Indian fast bowlers hitting their straps in their opening bursts. However, there wasn’t enough movement to make life difficult for the English openers.

Ben Duckett kicked off the proceedings with a beautiful cover drive but India had the upper hand in the early exchanges with both Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna pulling up their socks after an unsatisfactory outing in the first dig. Siraj tested Crawley and had two vehement appeals for LBW turned down by the umpire while Prasidh held the fifth stump line against Ben Duckett – this time around pushing his length up, trying to inveigle drives. The left-hander managed a streaky boundary over the gully fielder but ultimately walked past India’s trap, finally hitting a four through covers before drinks as the scoreboard signaled a 50-run alliance.

Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley are still going strong as we pass 100/0 in Leeds.

Catch up on the best of an excellent morning session, right here 📺👇

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 24, 2025

England gathered steam after the break. Eben though Prasidh wasn’t letting Duckett breathe easy via his outside-off line, the southpaw found his jailbreak in shorter lengths, pulling them away to the fence. Crawley joined the party with a cover drive, attacking Shardul Thakur who was off the radar in his four-over burst. Wet behind the ears as leader of the Indian team, Shubman Gill was guilty of chasing the ball a little bit during this phase.

Crawley brought up the 100-run partnership with a delightful punch towards the point region. With the ball enduring some wear and tear India tried to persuade the umpire to change the ball twice but the umpires didn’t entertain their requests before finally conceding and getting the ball replaced in the 27th over. Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah wrested control on the verge of Lunch, albeit the speedster shelled a difficult return catch of Crawley as India’s quest for a breakthrough continued.

Brief Scores: England 465 & 117/0 (Ben Duckett 64*, Zak Crawley 42*) need 254 runs to win against India 471 & 364 (KL Rahul 137, Rishabh Pant 118; Brydon Carse 3/80, Josh Tongue 3/72).