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England skipper Ben Stokes' horrendous 2024 tour of India continued as he departed for a duck in the first innings of the fifth Test in Dharamsala on Thursday, March 7. The left-handed batter was trapped LBW by Kuldeep Yadav, who claimed his fifth wicket of the innings, to dismantle the English batting unit in the second session of Day 1.
England were cruising at 175/3 at one stage with Jonny Bairstow launching a brilliant counter-attack at one end, before Kuldeep dismissed him. Ravindra Jadeja struck from the other end to remove Joe Root and trigger England's middle-order collapse, something which has been a trend this entire series.
Kuldeep struck the very next over after Root's departure, setting up Stokes to perfection. The skipper was caught all ends up against a wrong'un after bowling a series of deliveries that turned well away from the left-handed batter. Stokes was caught in his crease as the ball hit him straight on the pad. The skipper opted to take the final review after consulting his batting partner at the non-striker's end, however, it ended up being in complete vain.
Fans were quick to troll Stokes, who has not asserted himself in the series with the bat at all, especially in the latter half of the series. Here are some of the reactions on Twitter:
Stokes has only scored 197 runs in nine innings on the tour of India
The England skipper started the tour on an optimistic note, scoring 70 runs to rescue his side from a spot of trouble in the series opener, which played a huge role in their eventual narrow win as well.
However, since then, he only has a couple of notable knocks, with poor scores dominating the scheme of things. He scored only seven runs in the fourth Test in Ranchi, and his recent outing in Dharamsala comes across as a cause for concern in a crumbling England middle order.
Once again England have failed to make the most of a solid foundation laid out by the opening batters. Crawley was the sole batter to cross the 30-run mark in the first innings, with his sublime 79, before losing his wicket to a ripper by Kuldeep Yadav.
As of writing, England are reeling at 193/8 after 55 overs, with the duo of Shoaib Bashir and Ben Foakes occupying the crease.
How many wickets will Kuldeep Yadav pick in the fifth Test against England? Let us know what you think.
