The England openers are beginning to settle in. Boundaries are gradually trickling in after India asked Zac Crawley and Ben Duckett a lot of questions with the new ball, which was seaming around as the pacers bowled to the field. It was no mean feat to keep these two openers calm upfront as they occupy the crease with incandescent purpose.
Before the start of play, Ravichandran Ashwin and Jonny Bairstow were handed their respective caps for the 100th Test with their families around. Ashwin became just the 14th player to attain the milestone of 100 Tests for India during the fifth Test against England at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association stadium in Dharamsala.
Ashwin, who made his Test bow against West Indies in New Delhi in 2011, is also the first player from Tamil Nadu to reach the 100-Test landmark. At 37 years of age, he is also the oldest Indian to reach the landmark. The off-spinner became the second Indian, after Anil Kumble, to tally 500 Test wickets, after snapping up the wicket of Crawley during the third Test at Rajkot.
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