Himalayan thunder: Kuldeep's five

Left-arm wristspinner produces a magical spell to bowl out visitors for 218 on a surface full of runs in Dharamsala

- GOMESH S

THE Indian team was in a huddle with Kuldeep Yadav at the centre at the HPCA Stadium on Thursday afternoon. Their eyes were glued to the giant screen, and so were the eyes of Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes. Kuldeep had rapped Stokes on the pads and England captain was given out. It looked plumb in real time but the southpaw sent it upstairs.

Just as Hawkeye returned three reads, the crowd let out a roar. The Indian huddle was jubilant. Every player from the XI was there save Mohammed Siraj. The pacer was standing near the on-field umpires.

After the verdict, he asked for the ball before he gave it to Kuldeep who raised it to acknowledge the applause.

The 29-year-old had registered his fourth five-wicket haul in his 12th Test. England's score read 175/6. However, that scorecard was not as straightforward as it seemed. Contrary to the forecast, the skies had cleared up significantly as the Sun shone bright through the day with a bit of cold breeze blowing across the stadium intermittently. Winning the toss on a belter of a surface, England opted to bat first.

Before the first ball was bowled, R Ashwin was felicitated, so was Jonny Bairstow. The Indian spinner received a guard of honour as the team walked on to the field. Once play began, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, did what they do best. They, somehow, survived Jasprit Bumrah and kept picking up the boundaries. Crawley, in particular, was ruthless when the ball was in his zone.