Revealed: Why are India, England players wearing black armbands on Day 5 of Leeds Test?

India and England players were seen wearing black armbands in tribute to former Indian spinner Dilip Doshi, who sadly passed away on June 23, at Headingley on Day 5 of the ongoing first Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy on Tuesday, June 24.

Dilip Doshi was one of India's finest left-arm spinners and represented the country in the late 1970s and early 1980s. To honor Doshi’s contributions to Indian cricket, both the England and India teams came together to pay respect to the legend at Headingley.

India and England players wear black armbands to honour Dilip Doshi at Headingley

Before the play of Day 5 began, a minute of silence was observed in memory of Doshi in the high-stakes Test match at Headingley. Additionally, the players from both teams and match officials were seen wearing black armbands to pay tribute to Doshi.

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Meanwhile, before the start of the play, legendary Indian cricketer and commentator Sunil Gavaskar said that the pitch at Headingley looks dry and more like an Indian surface, with little grass left on it. He also predicted that the overcast weather is likely to help the fast bowlers, but the surface itself doesn’t offer much bounce or movement.

Overcast conditions will help the quicks: Sunil Gavaskar

Gavaskar further noted that the ball is expected to come on nicely to the bat, which means England batters will look to score freely as they are chasing 350 runs in 90 overs on the final day. So, if India wants to win this game, the bowlers will need sharp fielding support, especially in the slip cordon, to avoid letting the game slip away from their grip at Headingley.

Sunil Gavaskar was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz, “Overcast conditions will help the quicks. There isn’t much help for them on this surface because the grass has been shaved off, and it looks like a dry, almost Indian surface. The footmarks created by the pacers will aid the spinners. Crucially, the ball will come on to the bat nicely, and England will go for their shots. India will need to hold on to their catches. Otherwise, they might be in for a disappointment.”

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India eye first win at Headingley since 2002 as England begin 371 chase

Earlier, India set a challenging target of 371 for England in the first Test at Headingley, and with Jasprit Bumrah in top form after his five-wicket haul in the first innings, they will fancy their chances to have a winning start to their Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

But Headingley has seen teams chase down 350-plus scores 19 times before, including England’s famous Ashes chase in 2019. More recently, in 2021, England successfully chased 378 against India in Birmingham. And then, India hasn’t won a Test at Headingley since 2002 under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy.

So, they will be hoping for an early breakthrough to win a Test at this venue after 23 years. Currently Crawley is batting at 16* while Ben Duckett is at 14*, with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj trying to get early wickets to put the hosts under pressure in their tricky chase in Leeds.