Crawley and Duckett Set New Record Against India in Fifth Test

Record-Breaking Partnership

In a remarkable display of skill, England's opening batsmen Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett have established a new record for the most partnerships exceeding 50 runs (8) for an opening pair against India in Test matches. This achievement was realized during the fifth and final match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval on Friday.

Over the course of 18 innings, the duo has accumulated a total of 984 runs, surpassing the previous record of 932 runs set by Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss in 20 innings.

Duckett stands out as the second-highest run-scorer for England in the current Test series against India, amassing 408 runs in 8 innings at an impressive average of 51.00, which includes two fifties and a century.

Conversely, Crawley has had a series of promising starts but has struggled to convert them into substantial scores, totaling 264 runs in eight innings at an average of 37.71, with three fifties to his name.

Match Highlights

During the match, a stellar five-wicket haul from pacer Gus Atkinson, combined with a brisk 92-run opening partnership between Duckett and Crawley, put India on the back foot in the first session of the second day of the fifth Test.

At the conclusion of the session, England stood at 109/1, with Crawley unbeaten on 52 and Ollie Pope on 12, trailing India by 115 runs. India had begun day two at 204/6, with Karun Nair (52*) and Washington Sundar (19*) still at the crease.

The day started positively for India, with Nair and Sundar each hitting a boundary off Josh Tongue in the opening over. However, Nair faced a leg-before-wicket decision against Atkinson but was eventually dismissed by Tongue for 57 runs off 109 balls, which included eight fours.

Sundar was also dismissed, caught at deep square leg by Jamie Overton, contributing 26 runs off 55 balls with three fours. Following these dismissals, Atkinson continued his impressive form, taking out Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, leading to India's total collapse at 224 runs in 69.4 overs.

Atkinson's figures of 5/33 and Tongue's 3/57 were pivotal in restricting India, preventing them from forming any significant partnerships.

Current Score

Brief Scores: England: 109/1 (Zak Crawley 52*, Ben Duckett 43, Akash Deep 1/46) vs India.