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Important SN update for SouthlandBrilliant Duckett steers England to stunning victory
Reuters • June 25th, 2025 6:34 am
Photo: AP
A superb century from Ben Duckett has helped guide England to a sensational five-wicket win in the first Test against India.
The hosts reaching a target of 371, the 10th highest successful run chase in Test history on a thrilling fifth and final day at Headingley.
Having turned the match on its head after India had been 430/3 in their first innings, England appeared to be cruising to a dramatic win as openers Duckett and Zak Crawley eased their side to lunch on 117 without loss in their second innings.
Duckett continued his imperious form with another four through the covers to reach his sixth Test hundred, before Crawley fell for 65, their 188-run partnership the second highest England opening fourth-innings Test stand.
Two wickets in two balls - those of Duckett and Harry Brook - dragged India back into the enthralling contest and when Ben Stokes fell for 33 attempting an ambitious reverse sweep, England's hopes of victory lay in the balance.
Joe Root's unbeaten 53 calmed the nerves around his home ground, with the former captain and Jamie Smith, who hit a six to seal victory, seeing England home as India, having scored five centuries in the match, somehow contrived to start the five-Test series in defeat.
Resuming the day on 21/0, uncharacteristically for a team renowned for their ultra-aggressive batting, Crawley and Duckett took 99 balls to bring up their 50 partnership, the longest it has taken the pair to do so for England, before pressing the accelerator.
There was slight concern for England when first-innings centurion Ollie Pope quickly followed Crawley back to the pavilion midway through the afternoon session, the No. 3 becoming Prasidh Krishna's next victim in back-to-back overs.
Duckett continued to accumulate runs quickly, however, before attempting one big shot too many to fall to Shardul Thakur for 149, the second-highest Test fourth-innings score by an English opener.
The contribution of Duckett, in such a pressurised situation, cannot be underestimated. It is 15 years since an England opener last scored a fourth-innings hundred: Alastair Cook at Mirpur in 2010.
Nerves set in around the ground when Brook departed for a golden duck, two in two balls for Thakur, with further scares forthcoming as England looked edgy.
Stokes was left shaking his head at the way he fell to Ravindra Jadeja shortly after tea, but Root and Smith dug in, stopped offering up chances and got the runs required, with Smith rounding off a remarkable victory in style.
Plenty of dropped catches and two batting collapses ultimately cost India. From 430/3 in the first innings, they lost their final seven wickets for just 41 runs, with the tail crumbling again in the second innings, 31 runs accumulated for the fall of the final six wickets.
It is the first time a team have managed five centuries in one Test and not emerged victorious, but also the first time those five centurions have been joined by six batsmen who fell for ducks, three in each innings, in the same match.
For England, at the start of a crucial period with the Ashes to come later this year, their summer could not have got off to a more promising start, with their aggressive approach, even if it has been toned down and refined, achieving their second highest run chase in their Test history.
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