Star Metro - India star Bumrah strikes before Duckett and Pope hold firm in 1st Test

At tea on the second day, England were 107-1 in reply to India's first innings 471, a deficit of 364 runs.

Duckett, dropped on 15, was 53 not out and Pope unbeaten on 48 after they had come together at 4-1 when Bumrah dismissed Zak Crawley.

India had been threatening a score in excess of 500 earlier Saturday after Rishabh Pant (134) joined opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Shubman Gill as one of three batsmen to make hundreds in the innings.

But a collapse either side of lunch saw India lose their last seven wickets for 41 runs inside 12 overs.

England captain Ben Stokes led from the front with an economical 4-66 in 20 overs, while fast bowler Josh Tongue wrapped up the innings on his way to 4-86.

Stokes had opted to field first after winning the toss Friday in seemingly ideal conditions for batting.

As a result, his openers now had to face the outstanding Bumrah under grey skies, illuminated by the Headingley floodlights, that favoured the unorthodox fast bowler.

And the last ball of the first over of England's reply saw Bumrah produce a near unplayable delivery that angled in and seamed away to take Crawley's outside edge, with Karun Nair holding a sharp catch at first slip.

England should have been 39-2 when Duckett's thick outside edge off Bumrah flew to backward point only for Ravindra Jadeja, so often superb in the field, to drop a two-handed catch.

Bumrah's opening spell yielded fine figure of 1-21 in five overs.

But with India keen not to over-burden Bumrah following a back injury, he only bowled one more over before tea.

Pope, fresh from his 171 against Zimbabwe last month, survived a delivery from Mohammed Siraj on 34 on umpire's call.

Duckett, meanwhile swept left-arm spinner Jadeja to complete a fifty with his eighth four in 68 balls faced.

- Pant head over heels -

India resumed on their overnight 359-3, with Gill 127 not out and Pant unbeaten on 65.

Gill, in his first innings as India skipper since succeeding the retired Rohit Sharma, surpassed his previous highest Test score of 128 with a classic off-drive for four against Chris Woakes.

Pant, by contrast went to a hundred in spectacular style, the wicketkeeper charging down the pitch to Shoaib Bashir before hoisting the off-spinner high over deep midwicket for six despite one hand coming off the bat.

The 27-year-old then celebrated his century with an acrobatic somersault.

Pant's seventh hundred in 44 Tests, and fourth against England, came off 146 balls including 10 fours and four sixes in a typically aggressive innings.

The pair were in complete command until Gill's mistimed pick-up shot off Bashir flew straight to deep square leg as the 25-year-old skipper fell for 147, having faced 227 balls including 19 fours and one six.

Gill's exit ended a partnership of 209 in 49 overs with Pant that had taken India to 430-4 and opened the door for a flurry of wickets to give England hope.

Nair, who six years ago made an unbeaten triple-hundred against England, fell for a duck when brilliantly caught by a diving Pope at extra cover off Stokes.

Pant, having played a succession of extraordinary strokes, was lbw offering no shot to Tongue to end an innings that featured 84 runs in boundaries before the paceman polished off the tail.

X.Boucher--SMC