Kuldeep Yadav bamboozles Zak Crawley, reminds fans of famous Babar Azam dismissal

India's spin wizard Kuldeep Yadav sent half of the England team back to the pavilion with his brilliant bowling in Dharamsala. The day started with him picking up the wicket of Ben Duckett, and there was no stopping him after that. The surface in Dharamsala was expected to favour the pacers but since it was covered due to snow for a long time, the pitch turned damp, offering assistance to the spinners.

The unorthodox wrist-spinner went on to pick up the wicket of Ollie Pope with a magical delivery, as wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel stumped him after alerting him that the England cricketer may step forward to play the ball. Pope completely misread the line of the ball and attempted to play on the ball on the onside but instead, the turn got the better of him, leaving him bewildered.

Watch Zak Crawley's dismissal here:

Soon after that, Kuldeep bowled a peach of a delivery, which got the better of Zak Crawley. The England opener failed to decipher the wrong’un of Kuldeep, which also troubled former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam in the 2019 ODI World Cup. Crawley was left stunned in the middle as there was a huge gap between his bat and the pad. Crawley walked back after scoring 79 runs, which gave England some momentum in the first innings.

The Uttar Pradesh-born spinner also picked up the wicket of Jonny Bairstow in the latter's 100th Test outing. The batter got out after scoring 29 runs off 18 deliveries. Adding injury to the assault, Ravindra Jadeja picked the prized scalp of Joe Root (26 off 56).

Ashwin opens his tally in 100th red-ball outing

In the 46th over of the match, Kuldeep dismissed England skipper Ben Stokes, who failed to open his tally. After that, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who is also playing his 100th red-ball international, picked up a couple in the form of Tom Hartley and Mark Wood as the visitors were reduced to 183/8 on the opening day. 

Also Read: Cricket fraternity doff their hats as Ravichandran Ashwin gets 100th Test cap in Dharamshala

Indian spinners have done a commendable job so far. The goal would be to pick up two more wickets after the Tea break and to get a good start with the bat.