An outstanding bowling performance from the spinners helped India to dominate Day 1 of the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala. Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav starred with a fifer, while senior spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up four wickets in his 100th Test match. The hosts also showcased their batting prowess with Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Rohit Sharma hitting half-centuries. Rohit and Shubman Gill returned unbeaten on 52 and 26 respectively, helping India to reach 135/1 at Stumps, trailing England by 83 runs.

After deciding to bat first, England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett gave their side a solid start, adding 64 runs for the opening wicket. After a long search, Kuldeep struck in the 18th over to dismiss Duckett (27) with Gill taking a fine running catch. Moments later, Dhruv Jurel did excellent work behind the stumps to send off Ollie Pope for just 11. Kuldeep then bowled a magical delivery to clean up Crawley, who batted brilliantly for his 79.

Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow added 38 runs to steady the England innings. However, Kuldeep did not allow them to add more runs as he dismissed Bairstow for 29. In the next over, Ravindra Jadeja removed Root (26) by trapping him in front of the stumps. Kuldeep then dismissed England’s captain Ben Stokes for a duck. All three batters took reviews to turn the on-field umpire’s decision but nothing was successful. Ashwin ran through the tail-enders and eventually, bowled out England for 218.

In reply, Jaiswal and Rohit gave an eye-catching batting performance, adding 104 runs for the first wicket. Both the batters played a few elegant and watchful shots to find the boundary ropes. Jaiswal departed after playing a fine knock of run a ball 57. India will look to take a healthy on Day 2 with 9 wickets in hand. On the other side, England will aim to bounce back strong and take early wickets in the morning session.