England’s hopes of salvaging a final victory from their tour of India are already in grave danger after an awful batting collapse on day one of the fifth Test in Dharamsala.
The tourists were spun out for 218, losing their last eight wickets for 81 runs and at one stage a calamitous 5-8 in 37 deliveries.
Opener Zak Crawley made an attractive 79, surviving the exaggerated movement found by the India new-ball bowlers in the mountain air after England won the toss.
Crawley’s dismissal, bowled by a sharp turner from the magical Kuldeep Yadav, preceded the real carnage. Jonny Bairstow, playing his 100th Test, Joe Root and Ben Stokes were all dismissed in the space of 13 balls for no addition to the score.
Taiwan National Day Celebration
