England’s Ben Duckett celebrates after reaching his century on day five of the first Test against India at Headingley in Leeds on Tuesday. AP/PTIA total of seven centuries were scored in the hugely entertaining opening Test, but Ben Duckett’s magnificent first ton (bat and fire), ended up being the crown jewel as England scripted a famous win over an erroneous India here at Headingley.The 30-year-old opener, one of the key figures of the Brendon McCullum-Ben Stokes regime where massive emphasis has been laid on playing hyper-aggressive cricket without having to worry about failure, smashed a wonderfully crafted 149 (70b, 21x4, 1x6), the epic being the cornerstone of England’s thumping five-wicket victory in chasing a massive 371 on Tuesday. For the record, it’s their second highest run chase ever.In an engrossing Test that ebbed and flowed till the very end, Duckett emerged as the undisputed hero as he systematically dismantled the India bowlers in challenging conditions. His opening partner Zak Crawley (65, 126b) too mixed determination with flair to defy the Indians. The duo’s 188-run partnership in just 42 overs completely deflated the Indian bowlers, who lacked the discipline and direction needed to close out such games.The conditions for most of the final day were similar to the fourth inning, cloudy and windy for much of the time, with the sun showing its face only sporadically. Although the pitch was flat and dry, almost like sub-continent tracks, it still had good bounce, with the odd ball doing funny stuff.It was what any bowling attack would have wished for. Jasprit Bumrah, the leader of the attack, and his primary lieutenant Mohammed Siraj bowled their hearts out in an engaging opening hour.They produced superb deliveries but were extremely unlucky not to get a wicket. They kept beating the outside edges of both Duckett and Crawley, but the English duo countered them superbly, freezing all their high-risk shots into the freezer and focusing purely on seeing out Bumrah and Siraj.They then targeted the back-up acts Prasidh Krishna and Ravindra Jadeja, and when they broke for lunch at 117/0 in 30 overs, there was plenty of optimism in the England dressing room.Without taking any risks and by playing just good old-fashioned cricket, they were able to score at 4 runs an over.The duo then upped the tempo post-lunch as the run rate almost hit 5.50. The cuts, the pulls, the sweeps and reverse-sweeps came out as the Indians looked all at sea.Their energy levels turned flat, the bunch seemingly missing the talismanic Virat Kohli and his aggression on the field. A dropped catch of Duckett while he was on 97 — who else but Yashasvi Jaiswal being the guilty party for a third time — didn’t help their cause either.They just went through the motion and hoped the wind would blow in their direction at some stage.It did when Prasidh, who followed two good balls with at least a bold shot which was punished brutally, managed to dismiss Crawley and Ollie Pope in back-to-back overs. Then Thakur, who for the first time had broken the ice, struck back to keep England’s charge in check.It was just what the doctor ordered for the Indians as England still needed 102 runs when Joe Root weaved his spin magic to keep them honest. But the Indians sensed an opportunity when England sent in another bowler, only for Root’s cunning change of pace to seal the deal. In the end, England won by five wickets to go one up in the series.
