India vs England: Kuldeep Yadav cuts through tourists in Dharamsala

England's hopes of clinching a final victory from their tour of India are already in serious jeopardy after a terrible batting collapse on the opening day of the fifth Test in Dharamsala.

The tourists spun out 218 times, lost their last eight wickets for 81 runs, and at one stage ended up with a disastrous record of 5 wins and 8 losses from 37 deliveries.

Opener Zak Crawley overcame the exaggerated movement found by India's new-ball bowlers in the mountain air to score an attractive 79 after England won the toss.

Crawley's dismissal, bowled by a sharp turner from the magical Kuldeep Yadav, preceded the real carnage. Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Ben Stokes, playing their 100th Test, were all dismissed within 13 balls as they did not add any points.

It was a good batting surface and all 10 of England's wickets went into spin, although there was one offering turn. Left-hander Kuldeep dazzled England with 5 wins and 72 losses, while Ravichandran Ashwin marked his 100th Test with 4 wins and 51 losses.

Any suggestion that England would make a quick counterattack with the ball was negated by the opening stand of 104 between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma.

Jaiswal was stumped by Shoaib Bashir for 57, but Rohit remained with a not-out 52 to lead his team to 135-1 with a margin of just 83 runs.

England may feel the Test could have been a make-or-break one, but captain Stokes insists his side have progressed despite the 3-1 scoreline. The 3-2 final result is commendable and confirms the captain's case, but instead the tourists are headed for a 4-1 defeat and a fight to justify any talk of progress.

There could not be a more beautiful setting. Dharamshala's snow-capped mountains, brightly colored seats and stands are reminiscent of the Disneyland of cricket. Rather than take inspiration from their surroundings or Wednesday's meeting with the Dalai Lama, England showed fortitude in the final stages of the tour.

It's a milestone match. An emotional Bairstow, who was joined by his family in the pre-match England huddle, was joined by Ashwin, while Ashwin was given a guard of honor as India took the field. James Anderson has 700 Test wickets and he is two short. In the end, the most important figure is England's 218, their lowest first innings total since September 2022.

While some batsmen were reckless, others were simply beaten by the skilled Indian spinners. Three of Kuldeep's wickets came from England and he could not pick his goolies.

Off-spinner Basheer, at least recovered from his illness and made it into the eleven, was only hit for 36 in the first over by Jaiswal.

Ollie Robinson remains unfit, leaving England with 13 healthy players, with assistant coaches Marcus Trescothick, 48, and Paul Collingwood, 47, filling in in defence. was nominated. England might have been better off calling them to bat as well.

Crawley and Ben Duckett got through the first hour of the Test well, even if the Indian sailors bowled too short and wasted movement.

The England openers added 64 for the first wicket, but the introduction of Kuldeep in the 18th over changed the course of the day. The 27-year-old Duckett tried unsuccessfully to go down to loft but was nicely caught by Shubman Gill who ran back from cover.

Another nifty innings from Ollie Pope saw him go toe-to-toe with a charge from Kuldeep, but it was still a solid morning with 100 for 2 at lunch.

Since the start of last year's Ashes, Crawley, England's top run scorer, played six times with a brilliant drive and a languid loft off Ashwin. He survived being caught on the bat pad off Kuldeep as India failed to review, but missed the next drive with Kuldeep's ripper and England crumbled.

Bairstow's 18 balls produced 29 runs, 2 sixes and 1 drop, and he was ultimately outclassed by Kuldeep. Root took a LBW to Ravindra Jadeja on the front foot and got ahead of Kuldeep on the back foot at Stokes leg. England's roots were torn apart.

Tom Hartley holed out, Mark Wood slipped slightly, Ben Foakes tried to guide the tail for 24 before dragging a sweep to the stumps, and Anderson smashed it straight to midwicket.

India has completely turned this series around since the loss in the first Test. They dominated the first day and were on their way to a big victory.

Kuldeep's spell of 15 consecutive overs was brilliant. He bowled with unerring control, arcing flight and disguised variations. Pope, Bairstow and Stokes all fell to Google.

The wrist-spinners dropped five of the first six wickets, with Ashwin withdrawing to hurt his tail, and the off-spinners took the last four.

England needed to start strongly with the ball, but Rohit and Jaiswal adapted the visitors' batting to the situation. Mr. Rohit singled out Mr. Wood for six, while Mr. Jaiswal treated Mr. Bashir with contempt.

Rohit came back on the 20th when he was caught on the leg side by Anderson, and 22-year-old Jaiswal reached 1,000 runs in 16 Tests, the second-fastest by an Indian player.

Jaiswal, who is over 50, had just started riding when he overtook Bashir and stumbled, but Gill arrived and continued to accompany Rohit, who remained an eerie presence for the second day.