Paceman Mark Wood has applauded Ben Duckett's "bravery and skill" after the opening batter led England's remarkable counter-offensive to disrupt India's bowlers on day two of the third Test.
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India racked up an imposing 445 and kept England in the field for 130.5 overs in sapping conditions but Duckett put pressure back on the hosts with a boundary-laden 133 not out from just 118 balls helping them motor along to 2-207 on Friday.
Given the circumstances of the match, as well as the 1-1 scoreline in the series, this was a monumental effort from Duckett, whose first iteration as a Test cricketer ended in India in November 2016.
"To be that far behind in the game and go out and play like that showed real bravery and skill," Wood said.
"Sometimes it looked like India weren't sure of their fields. The way they changed the field and then he'd hit it somewhere else, it was such a skilful innings against a good attack.
"He's a nightmare to bowl at in the nets. We try to get him to leave one but he never leaves any!
Duckett had a torrid time on his only tour previous of India as he was worked over by Ravichandran Ashwin before being dropped for several years.
Ashwin, who claimed his 500th Test wicket by dismissing Zak Crawley, said: "Ben Duckett is a phenomenal talent so credit to him, he's made a wonderful hundred. I wanted to clap, but the hardcore competitor in me didn't allow me to clap, but I'm very happy for Ben."
Meanwhile, Ashwin also rubbished former England captain Alastair Cook's suggestion that he had intentionally encroached upon the protected area of the pitch.
The spinner had earlier penalised for running down the middle of the Rajkot pitch when he was batting.
Ravindra Jadeja was given India's only and final warning for the same transgression the previous evening so when Ashwin did the same attempting a quick single, England were awarded five penalty runs.
Cook, England's all-time record Test run-scorer, thought Ashwin was attempting to gain an unfair advantage for when it was his turn to bowl.
In his punditry role for TNT Sports, Cook said: "Is it deliberate? Yes, it is. It's a tactical ploy that you can disturb the middle of the wicket because Ashwin wants as much help (as possible) when he can bowl."
Ashwin rejected such claims, saying: "They clearly warned some of our batters (on Thursday) for running on the pitch. I was aware of it, but my poor motor skills didn't allow me to get off the pitch in time.
"If the English media and players think it was on purpose, it wasn't. If that's how they want to treat it, so be it."
"I went to (on-field umpires) Joel (Wilson) and Kumar (Dharmasena) and said 'that's pure poor motor skills'. If I was any better, I would have been in the Olympics. Why play cricket?"
Australian Associated Press
