London | England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett smashed the Indian pacers with absolute disdain on a seaming surface after bundling out the visitors for 224 in the first half hour of play on day two of the series deciding fifth Test here on Friday.
Duckett (43 off 38) and Crawley (52 batting off 43) hit boundaries for fun on a green surface where Gus Atkinson took a deserving wicket haul by removing three Indian batters shortly after play began.
The hosts raced to 109 for one in 16 overs at lunch, trailing India by 115 runs.
The trio of Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna ran out of ideas against the onslaught from the England openers.
Much to their relief, Duckett was caught behind 15 minutes before lunch attempting another reverse hit off Akash. The opening stand yielded 92 runs off just 77 balls.
It was unusual to see Akash wrap his arm around Duckett and give him a send off with a smile on his face.
Crawley collected five of his 12 fours off Siraj, including a straight drive, punch through the covers and flick towards mid-wicket. He completed his fifty with a boundary in the third man region off Akash.
Duckett deliberately disturbed the pacers' rhythm by dancing down the track at will, using the cut on the charge twice against Akash.
He pulled off a reverse scoop off Akash before playing a ramp off for a maximum off Siraj soon after.
Ollie Pope joined Crawley in the middle and began with a couple of sweetly timed cover drives.
In the first 30 minutes of play, India lost four wickets for just 20 runs after resuming the day at 204 for six.
Overnight batters Karun Nair (57 off 109 balls) and Washington Sundar (26 off 55) perished in quick succession before Atkinson polished off the tail.
Scoreboard at lunch on the second day of the fifth Test between India and England here on Friday.
India 1st innings: 224
England 1st innings:
Zak Crawley not out 52
Ben Duckett c Jurel b Akash Deep 43
Ollie Pope not out 12
Extras: 2 (lb-1, nb-1)
Total: 109/1 in 16 overs
Fall of wickets: 1-92
Bowling: Mohammed Siraj 4-0-31-0, Akash Deep 7-0-46-1, Prasidh Krishna. 5-0-31-0.
