Leeds, June 24 (UNI) England made a strong statement in their pursuit of a challenging target of 471, reaching 117 for no loss at lunch on Day 5 of the ongoing Test, with openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett laying a solid foundation under overcast conditions.
Despite the gloomy skies and early movement, Indian pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj kept things tight in the first hour, but the breakthrough eluded them. Prasidh Krishna showed flashes of promise but struggled with consistency in his line. Shardul Thakur bowled just three overs, while Ravindra Jadeja found little assistance from the surface and did not extract much turn.
Duckett took advantage of Krishna's erratic lengths, cruising to a fluent half-century off 66 balls, peppered with eight boundaries. Crawley, meanwhile, played the supporting role with a more cautious approach, defending straight and timing his drives neatly.
India repeatedly asked for a ball change and were finally granted one three overs before lunch. Bumrah immediately returned and generated a half-chance that went down, adding to India’s frustration.
There was a brief moment of success for India when Crawley was adjudged LBW on 15.4, but the decision was overturned on review.
With England resuming the day on 21 for no loss, their openers have added 96 runs in the first session, clearly dominating proceedings. As the pitch eases further and the sun threatens to peek through, the upcoming afternoon session may tilt further in the batsmen's favour.
With Duckett on 64 and Crawley on 42, and all ten wickets intact, England will look to shift gears post-lunch.
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