Can Zak Crawley Lead England to Victory with His Unbeaten 52?

London, Aug 1 (NationPress) Zak Crawley remains unbeaten on 52, leading England to a score of 109/1 in 16 overs, trailing India by 115 runs at lunch on day two of the fifth Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test held at The Oval on Friday.

Starting from 204/6, India's innings concluded swiftly within 30 minutes and just 34 deliveries into the morning session. Gus Atkinson claimed three of the last four wickets to achieve figures of 5-33 from 21.4 overs, which included eight maidens. Josh Tongue contributed with one more wicket, finishing with 3-57 as India lost their final four wickets for a mere 20 runs.

In response, England's openers put on a thrilling 92-run partnership in only 12.4 overs, with Ben Duckett smashing 43 off 38 deliveries. Crawley displayed his signature style, hitting 12 boundaries to remain not out on 52 from 43 balls—marking his 19th Test fifty. He is accompanied by skipper Ollie Pope, who is not out on 12 from 16 balls.

It was no surprise to see Duckett and Crawley start aggressively, punishing deliveries that strayed wide, whether they were full or short. Crawley was exceptional in executing powerful drives, particularly against Mohammed Siraj, scoring three fours before Duckett pulled off a six against Akash Deep, shortly after surviving an lbw review.

With Siraj, Akash, and Prasidh Krishna struggling to find their rhythm, Crawley and Duckett capitalized by dispatching them for boundaries. The possibility of England finishing the session without losing a wicket was thwarted in the 13th over when Duckett attempted a reverse scoop against Akash but ended up gloving it to wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel.

Crawley reached his third fifty of the series in just 42 balls, guiding a delivery from Akash past gully for a boundary, while Pope also found form, striking two drives off Prasidh for boundaries, concluding a dominant session for England.

Earlier, the session began with Karun Nair and Washington Sundar hitting a boundary each off Tongue. However, Tongue quickly got back in the game, delivering the first breakthrough for England by trapping Nair lbw for 57 with a ball that jagged back in, wasting a review in the process.

In the next over, Washington was dismissed for 26 after pulling a short ball from Atkinson to deep square leg. Atkinson soon claimed his fourth wicket, crashing a fuller delivery into Mohammed Siraj's off stump.

Just two balls later, Atkinson wrapped up his remarkable five-for by inducing Prasidh Krishna to edge an outswinger behind to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith. Atkinson's impressive 5-33 was all the more significant given Chris Woakes's left shoulder injury sustained while fielding on day one, ruling him out of further action in the match. Duckett and Crawley ensured England's advantage remained intact, with Crawley looking to capitalize further in the post-lunch session.

Brief Scores: India 224 in 69.4 overs (Karun Nair 57, B Sai Sudharsan 38; Gus Atkinson 5-33, Josh Tongue 3-57) leads England 109/1 in 16 overs (Zak Crawley 52 not out, Ben Duckett 43; Akash Deep 1-46) by 115 runs.