Ben Duckett scores maiden 4th innings Test hundred, sinks India’s hope of victory in Headingley

Ben Duckett has perhaps scored the best hundred of his Test career. The southpaw opener rode his luck in the first innings of the India vs England 1st Test to an important half-century. A dropped catch by Ravindra Jadeja when he was batting on 15 gave Duckett an opportunity, which he cashed in on. However, he couldn’t go to score a big one.

Chasing 371 in the second innings and the pitch still aiding the batter meant that Duckett looked to correct his mistakes in the second innings. He knew Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, to some extent, were his biggest threats. So, he saw the new ball off, late on day four and early on day five.

Duckett’s maiden 4th innings Test hundred

Then Duckett exploded. As Zak Crawley chipped away slowly, he was the one who was moving the scorecard quickly. However, given his aggressive style of play, there were close calls. Multiple swipes missed it twice. Twice the edges went between the slips. Twice he tried playing scoops, totally missed them, and escaped.

He had raced into the 90s. Batting on 97 (116), he hooked a short ball from Siraj. It didn’t come off neatly and flew to deep backward square leg. Guess what? Duckett was dropped. And once again the culprit was Yashasvi Jaiswal. The Indian opener had dropped three catches in the first innings, and this running catch wasn’t the most difficult either.

In the very next over, he reverse swept Ravindra Jadeja for a four and brought up his maiden Test century in the fourth innings and his sixth overall. His control percentage of 78% showed that he wasn’t at the top at all times, but given his style of play, that’s expected. He was brave and fortune favoured him.