By Simon Wilkes
Ben Stokes hailed a ‘great start to the series’ and lauded England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley after they helped the hosts to a five-wicket win over India at Headingley.
England captain Stokes won the toss in Leeds and put the tourists in to bat, seeing them rack up 471 all out after three India batters scored centuries.
Under head coach Brendon McCullum and Stokes, however, England are no longer daunted by big scores – and responded with a swashbuckling 465 all out which featured a wonderful ton by under-pressure number three Ollie Pope and a thrilling 99 from Harry Brook.
Headingley heroics
India posted 364 in their second innings, with another two centuries, leaving Stokes’ charges to chase down 371 for a first-Test victory on a ground famous for cricket heroics.
Duckett and Crawley put on 188 for the opening stand, with the latter scoring a composed 65 off 126 balls, and the former notching a match-winning knock of 149 off 170 balls.
That took the pressure off the England dressing room, with Joe Root (53no) and Jamie Smith (44no) steering the hosts to a thrilling victory in 82 overs.
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Unbelievable
Stokes chipped in with 33 off 51 balls – but knew where the game was won, telling Sky Sports: “[Ben] Duckett was unbelievable. The pressure of the fourth innings is tough and batting is hard enough, especially in England.
“So that partnership between Zak [Crawley] and Duckett was just incredible, they set us up brilliantly. Those two complement each other so well.
“Duckett has got the big score that contributed towards us winning this game, but I thought the way Crawley was able to stay composed and stay in the moment was also very important to this win.”
Some pundits questioned Stokes’ decision to bowl first – but the England skipper is all about taking decisions which give his team the best chance of winning Test matches.
Mopping up the tail
Two batting collapses ultimately proved costly for India, with England paceman Josh Tongue being labelled ‘The Mop’ after removing the tail-enders with figures of 4-86 and 3-72.
Stokes added on his toss decision: “You don’t know what’s going to happen before a ball has been bowled.
“You’ve got to go with what you think is going to give you the best chance of winning the game and it’s a good job Test cricket is played over five days.
“There’s no doubt that chasing down totals does give you confidence as a team – but it doesn’t mean that is how it’s always going to go.
“Having confidence in this dressing room that we are able to win against quality opposition, like we have done quite a number of times now, fills this dressing room with confidence, but we’re not always going to be in that situation.
“It’s been a great start to the series and we’ve got four more hard games coming up.”
The second Test between England and India starts on Wednesday, July 2 and is being played at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
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