ENGLAND SENT INTO TAIL-SPIN

KULDEEP AND ASHWIN CRASH THROUGH SUFFERING TOURISTS AFTER CRAWLEY BUILDS PLATFORM

- Malik Ouzia

FOR an hour this morning, clad in their knitwear and being examined exclusively by swing, England might have been forgiven for thinking they were back on home soil.

By mid-afternoon, though, a familiar reality had set in, the tourists again bamboozled into a subcontinental spin and India, thanks to the brilliance of Kuldeep Yadav, firmly in charge of the Fifth Test.

All 10 wickets fell to India's tweakers, including five of the top-six to Kuldeep, as England, having won the toss, collapsed from 175 for three to be skittled for 218. Approaching the close, India's openers had blasted through nearly half of that total unmoved before Yashavsi Jaiswal was stumped moments after reaching yet another half-century.

Against a backdrop of Himalayan peaks, England's implosion plunged to its nadir in a wretched 13-ball spell, when Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow fell without adding a run to the total, each also torching a review.

For Bairstow, in particular, this was not in the script, the batter handed his 100th cap by Root in an emotional presentation at the head of the day and emerging a man on a mission in a typically punchy start with the bat.

Starting, though, has not been England's problem; again, plenty made it out of the blocks, but only Zak Crawley, with 79, onto a score of note.