In front of them, England faced a difficult challenge. Getting 371 in the fourth and last innings of a Test is never simple. Regardless of how you play, it's hard for any squad to score more than 350 runs in the last innings. But in the final innings of the Headingley Test against India on Tuesday, England's opening batsmen Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett destroyed the back of a 371-run chase as the pair scored 188 runs for the first wicket.

England still held all ten wickets going into Day 5, while the home team needed 350 more runs to win. On day four, England had a score of 21/0 at stumps. Crawley and Duckett, the opening hitters, were measured to begin with as they faced the first few overs by Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah.

The pair began to play their natural game after the first hour, and none of the bowlers were spared. Between the two, Duckett was the more aggressive hitter, and in the second session of Day 5, the southpaw finally reached his century.

Additionally, Crawley seemed on track to score a well-earned century. But after hitting 65 runs off 126 deliveries, he eventually lost his wicket to Prasidh Krishna and returned to the cabin.

The highest opening stand in any test match against India in the fourth innings is this 188-run one. This is the highest stand in the fourth innings in Headingley, and the second-highest overall for England.

Additionally, the 188-run partnership is the fifth-highest by any opening combination in the fourth innings and the best since 1995. The pair recorded the best opening partnership in the fourth innings of a home Test for England when Crawley and Duckett's stand surpassed the 156-run barrier, breaking the 154-run record set by Geoffrey Boycott and Mike Brearley against Australia in Nottingham in 1977.

It was also the first occasion in a Headingley Test that both opening batsmen scored more than fifty runs in the fourth innings.

Ben Duckett gets a century

Ben Duckett scored the first century by an English opening batsman in the fourth innings of a Test since Alastair Cook's 109 not out against Bangladesh in Mirpur in 2010, thanks to his hundred against India.

In addition, this is Ben Duckett's debut century in the second innings of his career.

Prasidh Krishna soon after taking Zak Crawley's wicket, claimed another one by hitting Ollie Pope's stumps (8).

As a result of centuries by KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant in the second innings, India established a goal for England of 371 runs in the fourth and final innings.

England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bowl first at the start of the Headingley Test.