IND vs ENG, 5th Test: Duckett-Crawley equal most 50+ partnerships against India in Test history

England’s opening pair of Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley continued their dominance over India, smashing their way into the record books with yet another 50‑plus stand on day 2 of The Oval Test. Their opening partnership in the fifth and final match of the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy was their eighth 50‑plus stand against India—the joint most by any opening pair in Test cricket against the visitors.

They went past the previous best of seven fifty-plus shared by England’s Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss. Other notable partnerships in this elite list include Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes (8) from the West Indies, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer (7) from Australia and Bill Lawry and Bob Simpson (7) from Australia.

In 18 innings against India, Duckett and Crawley have now added 984 runs together, overtaking Cook and Strauss’s tally of 932 runs in 20 innings. Duckett has been in stellar touch this series, scoring 408 runs in eight innings at an average of 51.00 with two fifties and a century. Crawley has been solid at the top too, with 264 runs in eight innings, including three fifties.

In this match, they gave England yet another rapid start, racing to 92 for no loss before Duckett fell for a quick 43 off 38 balls. Crawley continued to dominate, reaching his fifty off just 43 deliveries.

But India struck back hard after lunch. From a strong position of 109/1, England reeled to 215/7. Mohammed Siraj led the fightback with three wickets, while Prasidh Krishna delivered a double‑wicket over before both sides went for tea. India needs only two wickets to wrap up the innings, with India gaining a big advantage as Chris Woakes is not expected to bat, citing his left-shoulder injury.