India vs England Highlights, 5th Test: Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill take IND to 135/1 at stumps in Dharamsala

That's the end of Day's play. It has been India's day out and out. Once Jaiswal well Shubman Gill continued to play the same way. He played his shots and kept the runs coming. Rohit too batted slowly and steadily and will be looking to capitalize in the morning. England's day started well in the first session and as the day went on it got worse and worse. Especially in that noon session when they lost a cluster of wickets for just 43 runs. They could have bowled better in the evening session at least from an accuracy point of view that did not happen either as the runs kept flowing. All in all, it is a strong start for India and England will be hoping moistur and coolness in the morning will help seamers pick a few early wickets. 

James Anderson was seen warming up. We might see come and bowl a short burst here. Gill has had his fair share of troubles against Anderson and it has been puzzling to see Stokes not use him. Spinners for England have been inaccurate and have been slipped loose time and again. Also, this is a different experience for Bashir playing and bowling on a Day 1 surface which is batting-friendly against batters of India's quality who have had the reputation of playing spin well. 

No signs of pace here yet. The spinners continue to ball long hops. Hartley bowled a short one to Gill early in the piece which he punished for a boundary and was gifted a gentle loosener to get off the mark as well. While Stokes tends to back his young spinners twice in two games it is starting to feel like it is costing them the game. Stokes needs to bring in a bowling change sooner rather than later here. Also Rohit seems to be getting himself in a bit of rut from an Indian batting perspective and he needs to score some runs here. 

Jaiswal hit a couple of boundaries of Bashir and tried to churn more out of the over as he came down the track and missed the ball to get stumped. Much needed breakthrough for England but India did put on a 100-run stand on the board. Shubman Gill has walked into the middle. With 30 minutes remaining in the day, Gill might look to see through the session and come back tomorrow morning and make a score. From England's perspective, they would be hoping one would get two. 

Things have been extremely easy for India. England has not been able to put any pressure whatsoever on Indian openers. Could Stokes have bowled Anderson a bit longer in that spell is something he would ponder upon. As of now with spinners operating things are looking a lot easier for the Indian batters. Stokes might consider bringing back Anderson for a burst of 4-5 overs or even Mark Wood for 2-3 overs. While Jaiswal has been playing his shots Rohit has been more subdued in this partnership. 

We have reached the water break in the evening session and it has been another passage of play which belonged to India. We still have 15 overs left in the day so we will be staying till 5 in the evening. England needs to try and find ways to pick wickets. In the early part of the series the England skipper lot more creative but as the series went on he seemed to have run out of ideas and it has been more or less the same things he has been trying to work repetitively and make them work. 

Rohit has looked a touch uncomfortable in the last 15 minutes or so. When the ball was coming with pace he looked as comfortable as anyone else but once the spinners have come in he seems to be a lot more circumspective. He probably might have realized this is a good wicket and runs are to be had hence he is waiting for the bowlers to get tired or make a mistake so that he can capitalize later. It is also important that Rohit keeps rotating the strike and does not end up at one end. 

Right on cue, Jaiswal delivered a big over against Bashir. He smashed him for three sixes in that very first over. It will be interesting to see what sort of psychological effect will that have on him going forward in the spell. India must keep doing and push the bowlers onto the backfoot as it is only the seamers who are getting some sort of help in the conditions here. Also, there is a left-arm spinner and off-spinner in operation so that the batters can choose their matchups as well. 

Spin is brought in from both ends now. It will be interesting to see how much help England spinners would get on this surface. Both are quicker through the air and the way Kuldeep has bowled today England would have loved to have at least one bowler who bowls slower through the air and flights it. As of now both of them will bowl quicker and flatter and deliver the odd slower one tossing it up. If Jaiswal and Rohit decide to be aggressive there are runs to be had for both batters. 

When asked about Ben Stokes's bowling McCullum would say we might see him in Dharmasala. The situation seems to be just about right something India would not expect at this time of the day. Also the pace at which Wood is bowling it won't be a long spell for him. He might bowl 3-4 overs and bowling would be relatively new he might come in and chip in and bowl those few overs and take the laquer of the ball before spinners get the ball. 

Mark Wood is bowling thunderbolts at the moment. The speed gun showed 151.2 when Rohit pulled it for a six-over fine leg. He followed up it with another fiery bowl which Rohit cut towards point for another boundary. He is looking in good touch here is Rohit. These are the kind of situations he becomes very ominous where he takes the game away in no time. England had already witnessed that on the third evening in Ranchi and would be England would be hoping that won't happen again. 

The sun is shining bright here at the moment. Hence expect not a lot of swing on offer. There is no moisture on the surface at this point of the day either. It needs to be something special from Anderson that results in picking a wicket. Ben Stokes might also consider bringing spin early in the piece here because of the lack of lateral movement. Shoaib Bashir has been fabulous in the Ranchi Test it might be him who Stokes turns to first up. 

Ashwin picks the final two after the break to restrict England to 218. It has been Ashwin and Kuldeep who have picked up nine wickets today and Jadeja picked one. It has been a fabulous effort from Indian spinners on a surface that was aiding no spin. As per England, it has been a poor batting effort from them yet again. They are about 200 runs short after electing to bat on Day one. They need an inspirational bowling performance to at least give themselves a chance will be right back after the break. 

It is another opportunity for Foakes to bat with the tail. When he was stuck with the lower batter in Ranchi he did not have the clarity as to how to go about things and they kept blocking their way out. But post-Tea he has played a couple of aggressive shots and that might be the way he will be going. Bumrah has been brought into the attack and he starts with a no-ball. Bahsir needs to be wary of the yorker that would be coming in. It is not as hot as it has been in previous venues hence there might not be much of a reverse swing. 

The break might do some good for England as it would break a bit of momentum Indians would have had. England might be hoping to come back show some resistance and take that total to 220-230 so that they kill a bit more time in this evening session and frustrate the Indian bowlers. 

Slip catching for the chef

It’s the last week for the England team in India and they wanted everyone in the touring party to get a feel of cricket at the picturesque Dharamsala Stadium. Post their warm-up and slip- fielding session, it was time to give the non-playing staff a feel of the action.

Skipper Ben Stokes took charge with the support staff, including chef David Pyle, stationed behind him for a slip-catching session of their own. Stokes threw down balls as Team doctor Glen Rae, media manager Danny Reuben, massage therapist Mark Saxby as well as Pyle, tried their best to grab the ball. The last one to hold on to a catch during the session was Pyle, generating the loudest cheer from the entire team. (Read more from Devendra Pandey)

If one more wicket had fallen it would have been 30 minutes extension but England live to fight 20 minutes more as we have taken Tean. India will come to bat this evening. Wonder what the chat in the England dressing room will be like. After all the positive chat and golf in Chandigarh and Bangalore ahead of the Test they are in the same situation in which they have been in previous England teams which have toured India. Ben Stokes might have learned a lot from this series as captain but does he have another tour in him to come back and show those learnings is a topic for another day. But as of now after all the build-up ahead of the series and Bazball talk it seems to be history repeating itself. 

R Ashwin picks Mark Wood the following ball is caught at slip by Rohit. This is capitulation from England in this series. This is not an unplayable wicket. This is just batting poor batting from England. Yes, Kuldeep has bowled fabulously well but making the same mistakes from Vizag to Dharmasala of not even attempting to read him of the hand is something the batters need to ponder upon coming in the next tours. The younger players have performed well to some extent in this series. The likes of Ben Stokes and Bairstow even Root if not for the 100 in Ranchi it has been a sorry tale.

This has been another poor performance from England with the bat. We must go back to the final innings in Rajkot when they could not bat two sessions. That felt like a pivotal moment in the series. As we update Hartley departs. He tries to hit a ball through cow corner and gets caught at long-on because of lack of timing. A fabulous catch from Padikkal his first contribution in the game and Ashwin picked his first wicket in the 100th Test. 

It is time and again the same thing. England trying to pick the bowlers off the surface and trajectory is causing the downfall. Ben Stokes looking at the trajectory felt it was short however the ball was pitched on good length and Stokes beaten by the trajectory went on the back foot and was trapped in front of the wicket. Once again despite giving out, Stokes similar to his collegues sent it upstairs, and there were three reds. This is the spell that Kuldeep seems like is coming off age. 

Joe Root tried to defend the ball coming forward however, subtle variations in the grip of the ball turned a little and was trapped in front of the wickets. Though it looked plumb Root went upstairs hoping something would save him but it was all reds on ball-tracking. This is fabulous bowling from Kuldeep and Jadeja. Though the wicket has not much it is the revolutions both Kuldeep and Jadeja are putting on each delivery to run through the batters. As we update Kuldeep picks Ben Stokes.

Bairstow has started well here. Anything which is tossed up he is not thinking twice to go after it. India needs to be a bit careful here Dharmasala is one of the quickest scoring grounds and if he gets his innings underway Bairstow can get runs underway quickly which can hurt India. As we update Bairstow has now gone past 6000 runs. As we update Kuldeep Yadav picks Bairstow. The batter tried to drive the ball got the outside edge and Jurel caught it. Despite given out on-field Bairstow went upstairs to find out a spike on the Ultraedge. 

Bairstow's lovely drive brings up 150 for England. We can see the ball slightly starting to spin now. However, it is nothing extravagant at the moment. Because of cooler conditions, the pitch might hold up longer than it did in Ranchi. We have come to water break in the noon session and it has been India's hour thus far. Only one wicket has fallen Kuldeep is bowling superbly. He is putting a lot of effort into every delivery. When a spinner tends to pick wickets in conditions as flat as these will give the captain confidence he could be used to overseas conditions as well. 

Zack Crawley tried to drive the ball through covers when pitched up. Once again did not read the ball out of the hand and threw his hands at a delivery without reading its trajectory. It spun back in and hit the top of the leg stump. Crawley departs in the 70s again. Jonny Bairstow on his 100th Test has walked in. He looked threatening to make a big one in Ranchi but did not. Today with the conditions as they are he might be able to score one but the challenge for him first up is to deal with Kuldeep Yadav. 

Ravindra Jadeja has been brought into attack by Rohit. The ball is skidding nicely onto the bat and Jadeja tends to ball quicker through the air compared to Ashwin and Kuldeep. Because of the lack of that spin Crawley and Root get adjusted to the pace of Jadeja, and they can start lining him up. This is where Jadeja needs to use subtle pace variations and probably get into a bit of white-ball format bowling today. Also, Jadeja needs to be wary of sweep shots the English batters might play and fire an odd one from time to time. As we update Kuldeep picks Crawley

We had another comic incident between Jurel and Sarfaraz once again. The ball brushed the thigh pad of Crawley when Bumrah was bowling and Jurel thought he had his man and appealed. When he asked Rohit to review Sarfraz this time shrugged his shoulders. Guess what The DRS genius in the words of Graeme Swann in Commentary box Sarfaraz has got it spot on again. Needs to get up to the pace here Jurel he is having a tough time of it compared to Sarfaraz who seems like can walk on water today. 

In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah Root looked a lot less flustred batting against the spinners and pacers in Ranchi. He looked a lot relaxed and played each ball on its merit. Today it will be interesting to see how he will go about his innings. Another important thing today is that Bumrah has not looked at the absolute best, especially the length which might give Root an advantage. It is one of those rare games in which Bumrah is struggling with his length or usually, he is one of those bowlers who figures out the ideal length for a surface quickly and keeps banging on it continuously to get the result. 

We had an incident immediately after lunch when Crawley got an edge which carried to short-leg Sarfaraz. However, Crawley was not given out and Sarfaraz alongside Kuldeep pleaded with Rohit to take a review. However, Jurel was not optimistic about it hence Rohit resited from taking one. However, soon after the replay on Ultraedge, it showed a spike. An opportunity went begging for India. Post lunch it is Kuldeep Yadav and Bumrah who have started the session with the ball for India. 

We are back for the second session. The first session was shared as England reached 100 runs. If not for the wicket of Pope it would have belonged to England. Nevertheless, the wicket fell we are we are. Root will come out to bat out with Crawley for the noon session. 

Skipper Ben Stokes had an interesting exchange with an Indian reporter on eve of the final Test of the series that England have already lost. Stokes was first praised for his leadership and this was followed by a question about rival Indian captain Rohit Sharma outsmarting his team.

The man credited with changing the course of England cricket remained non-committal, later he even went on to say that he wasn’t really disappointed about the result of the series. England would have lost but like always the Bazballer-in-Chief was blindingly staring at the positives. But first the back and forth involving Stokes. (Read more from Sandeep Dwivedi)

On Thursday, Jonny Bairstow will become the 17th player to reach 100 Tests for England. Though his record isn’t as stellar as some of the other stalwarts to reach the landmark, the 34-year-old’s story of overcoming several hurdles through his life is a remarkable one. It details not only his hard work and determination, but also his mother Janet’s strong willpower and coach Brendon McCullum backing that gave Bairstow’s Test career a second wind.

It’s well documented that Jonny’s father David, a Test cricketer himself, took his life because of depression in 1998. However, it didn’t prevent Jonny from emulating his father and surpassing his achievements in the game. (Read more from Tanishq Vaddi)

Well, the way Pope got out sums up his series after that ton in the first game. The ball and he were in two different frequencies altogether. Once again it is this tendency to play the ball through the surface and trajectory rather than picking from the hand which did him. He went down the track trying to work the ball on the leg side which pitched and spun away from the batter and Jurel stumped. That wicket in itself is an indication of how good Kuldeep can be going forward in the Test. As of now, we head lunch stay with us for all the updates after the break. 

Zack Crawley has reached his half-century here. It has been a mixed inning for him. He scored a lot more fluent knocks earlier in the series. Today he played and missed a lot nevertheless he was there and got to his landmark. 

Since Kuldeep has been brought into the attack Crawley has looked a bit restless. Once that ball has gone old in between that 10th over to 15 th over he looked comfortable only till Kuldeep was into the attack. He is trying a few things but looks like he similar to Ben Stokes is looking for the bowler to pick off the pitch rather than a hand which might be difficult, especially on this wicket where it will skid on and batters will tend to have that fraction of second less than usual while facing Kuldeep on wickets are a touch on slower side. 

It was a brilliant catch from Shubman Gill to pick Duckett's wicket. The batter tried to hit Kuldeep through cow corner got the leading edge and Gill who was fielding on mid-wicket on off-side ran back and dived at the right moment to finish the catch. That was the breakthrough India needed and it was the wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav who got the wicket. Ollie Pope has walked into the middle. After that magnificent inning in Hyderabad, he has gone off the boil. With the wicket today he will be hoping that he can contribute. 

Kuldeep Yadav has been brought into attack here giving a break to Siraj after a long eight-over spell. He will be the crucial bowler today for India as the wicket is on a flatter side. On a good wicket, it is the wrist spinners who can do the job. It is also the right move from Rohit to bring in Kuldeep today early instead of Jadeja. The leggy might have plenty of overs to bowl today given the wicket might skid on better for him which might trouble that pacer because of the ball coming a fraction of a second quicker.  As we update Duckett picks Kuldeep. 

The man who is playing his 100th Test has been brought into the attack. He had a guard of honor as he walked onto the ground and deservedly so this morning. He landed his first ball right on the money like he did thousands of ones before which has brought him 507 wickets. It will be a different challenge for him today. It is a track that is flat and it will get better as the day progresses. Duckett in that very first over scopped a ball. He will do it time and again as long as he stays that is what Ashwin needs to counter and get his wicket. 

We have reached the first water break of the Test match. What happened with India this morning can be called Shami length syndrome when he bowls in England where he beats the bat innumerable times without picking wickets. While there have been plenty of plays and misses Bumrah has been a touch on the shorter side this morning. It is not very usual that he gets his lenghts wrong but this morning has been one of those cases. Siraj has been a lot more subtle with his lengths and tried to hit the stumps regularly. Both opening bowlers are into their seventh overs seems like Rohit is putting all eggs in one basket. 

Crawley has got himself a start here. He played and missed many times but he is up and running now. Between facing all those unplayable deliveries he played sumptuous drives. As we update Crawley gets away with one. The ball once again comes back in and Crawley's misjudgment of these deliveries through the morning continues as he looks to play it straight this time rather than trying to work it on the leg-side. However, the ball hit the pads the Indians appealed but was not given out by Rohit reviewed it to find out it was the Umpire's Call on wickets hitting. England gets one in their favor early in the Test. 

Zack Crawley at this point in his innings seems to be struggling with the ball that is coming back in. Time and again he is missing the ball looking to work in the leg-side. There seems to be a miscalculation in his mind of how much the ball would come back into him. Though there are enough moments he seems to play the ball too early causing plays and misses time and again. Bumrah might be missing a trick here not by pitching the ball further up and bringing it back into Crawley lot more. He has been a bit on the shorter side this morning. 

More than Bumrah it has been Siraj who has been pitching the ball up and Rohit has given him close-in fielders on the leg-side. It might be because of the odd-ball keeping low and moving which might induce a mistake as long as Siraj keeps hitting the stumps. Bumrah on the other hand is looking to set up the batter with his skill and ability to move the ball away continuously and bring one back and vice-versa. Having said all that 40 minutes into the day's play India still has not picked a wicket on the pitch that is helping. 

RAIN ALERT: Suddenly overcast at Dharamshala, Dhauladhar mountain range gets cloud cover, Bumrah beats Crawley with swing...

Bumrah is managing to bowl a brilliant delivery now and again. He is beating the bat but is unable to get that edge. He might consider pitching one up to Duckett and make him drive. To Crawley though he seems to be consciously on the shorter side and as the right-hander with his long leavers can drive the bowl with ease. Siraj from the other end has not been able to get the same moment of the surface but has been disciplined with his lines and lengths. India needs to cash in and pick a couple of wickets in that first session when the ball is new. 

The odd ball is keeping low here might be because of a bit of dampness in the surface. This is going to be a testing period for both Crawley and Duckett as both bowlers are getting plenty out of the surface. If they can see off this new ball in the noon session once the sun is out these might be the best conditions to bat on in the series so far. Also, it will be interesting to see if Rohit will use his wrist spinner earlier than usual because of the moisture in the pitch which will help Kuldeep to get the ball skid through. 

Devdutt Padikkal is making his Test debut in the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala. The southpaw has replaced injured Rajat Patidar, who caught up an injury on the eve of the fifth Test.

“Bumrah (Jasprit) is back and he will replace Akash Deep. Devdutt Padikkal is making his debut and he will replace Rajat (Patidar), who picked up an injury last evening,” Rohit Sharma said at the toss. (Read more)

Jasprit Bumrah has taken the new ball as expected. It is quite cold up here so expect some swing and seam early in the piece. The ball was moving and Zack Crawley was solid in defense and leaving the ball. Siraj will take the new ball from the other end. The English will enjoy these conditions more than the Indians would do. First innings are crucial for them today after winning the toss and opting to bat first as that is where they have fallen short in this series time and again. 

"Pitch looks like an absolute belter. The outfield is excellent and it is a smallish ground as well. Should be a good contest between bat and ball," reckon Nick Knight and Sanjay Manjrekar.

Rajat Patidar got hit on his left ankle during Team India's practice session on 6th March, 2024. He pulled up sore on the morning of the game and was not available for selection for the 5th Test.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravindra Jadeja, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes(c), Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes(w), Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, Mark Wood, James Anderson

We would have batted first as well. We have done really well so far this series and an opportunity to finish on a high. There should be good bounce on this pitch than the games before in this series. Good pitch to bat on and I don't think it will deteriorate that much. Ash has been a real stalwart of Indian cricket. Such a proud moment for him, his nation and the family. We will be rooting for him to do the magic. Bumrah is back, Akash Deep misses out. Devdutt Padikkal makes his debut as Patidar got injured last evening.

We are going to have a bat. You probably have a bat looking at this pitch. It's another opportunity to represent our country. Amazing! Jonny is one of our best ever all format players. 100 Test caps shows his commitment. Nice moment a few minutes ago when he got the cap. One change for us. Mark Wood comes in.

The fifth Test between India and England though is a dead rubber from the series point of view but it still has World Test Championship points at stake and is the 100th Test for both R Ashwin and Jonny Bairstow. In addition to that both teams have players who have a point to prove.

The likes of Rajat Patidar despite averaging in mid 40s in first class could not deliver the goods in the three Tests so far and would be hoping to end the series on a high. As for England Bairstow though looked good in patches and could not convert the starts he after looking for a brief period played a nothing shot in the end to get himself out.

"700 wickets is phenomenal as a seam bowler. He has had an amazing career up to date and I just can't see him stopping. I've played with Jimmy for a long, long time and I have never seen him look as physically fit as he does right now. Being 41 and still showing the hunger to get better every day is testament to his commitment."

Kuldeep Yadav, meanwhile, could be the one to make way for the returning Jasprit Bumrah if India believe the chilly weather will persist. "If we feel the weather is going to be like this, there's a good chance,"

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes (WK), Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson.

Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khah, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep

R Ashwin will go among one of the greats of the game. But the off-spinner has had a mediocre series by his standards before he ran through the English batting line-up in the second innings at Ranchi. The 37-year-old was giving the ball revs and found the optimal pace for the surface getting back into his rhythm and he would be hoping to do the same in the final Test.

After getting rested in the previous game Bumrah will be back in the playing XI for the fifth Test. Akash Deep has bowled a fiery spell on Day one in Ranchi. On a wicket that had little help, Akash made full use of whatever moisture was there and troubled the English batters with his subtle seam positions. Hence he might be the bowler who might be getting another game in place of Mohammed Siraj.