[Watch] Kuldeep Yadav shocks Ben Stokes to complete magnificent 5-wicket haul in 5th IND vs ENG Test

Kuldeep Yadav dismissed England captain Ben Stokes to cap off a five-wicket haul for the ages on Day 1 of the Dharamsala Test between India and England.

The set-up was the perfect sample of the rhythm he had shown throughout the day. Stokes' first three balls were slow leg-breaks, which went away from him. The first was blocked back, the second was left alone, and he tried to push off the back foot with gentle hands on the third delivery but got beaten.

Looking at Stokes' game plan, Kuldeep changed it up and bowled a googly, which was a bit faster than his normal deliveries. Stokes read it but by the time he brought out his extravagant backfoot flick, the ball rapped him on the pads and the umpire had no qualms about giving him out. The skipper reviewed, more in hope than anything else, and saw three reds.

Watch it here:

This was Kuldeep's fourth five-wicket haul in Tests and, interestingly, it came at the same venue he picked up his first against Australia in 2017.

He was at it from his first over on Thursday and started by getting Ben Duckett out for 27 to give India their first wicket. Ollie Pope was stumped just before lunch and Zak Crawley was outfoxed by a peach. Jonny Bairstow, playing his 100th Test, then also misread a googly and got a faint edge to the 'keeper.

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Kuldeep Yadav becomes fastest-ever to 50 Test wickets for India

The fourth wicket was his 50th in Tests for India and made him the fastest to the milestone for the country in terms of balls taken. According to statistician Kausthub Gudipati, he reached the mark in 1871 balls, much better than Axar Patel (2205) and Jasprit Bumrah (2465). In terms of skill too, it looked like his best performance yet.

Catch the live action from the Test here.

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