Embarrassed England only has one man to blame after India collapse

England captain Ben Stokes has been torn to shreds as the Poms self combusted in spectacular fashion on Thursday night.

Indian cricket supremo Roger Benny says England only has one man to blame after another spectacular capitulation on Day 1 of the Fifth Test.

England collapsed to 218 all out on day one in Dharamsala, as Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav ripped through the opposition top and middle-order after the tourists elected to bat in their bid for a consolation win in the series.

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Opener Zak Crawley hit 79 but England crumbled from 175-3, losing Jonny Bairstow (29), in his 100th Test, Joe Root (26) and skipper Ben Stokes — out for a duck — with the score unmoved.

Bairstow’s dismissal saw England lose 5/8 in a spectacular middle order collapse.

India’s batters made England’s effort look even worse — reaching stumps at 1/135 trailing England by just 83.

Stokes has repeatedly shot down criticism of his tactics and the tourists’ so-called Bazball approach — but it has looked worse and worse as the series has progressed.

BCCI president and former India Test fast-bowler Roger Binny made a rare comment slamming Stokes after the first day of play.

“Well, the captaincy of Ben Stokes so far he has been more aggressive, and I think that has been the (reason for their) downfall in the few Test matches,” Binny said to PTI Video.

England captain Ben Stokes. Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images.

“I think England have themselves to blame for the situation they are in at the moment. I think they started well in the morning, they looked as if they would put up a fighting score.

“So far, it has been India’s day. They have been batting well also so far and I think the Test series has been very one-sided after the first Test that England won. From then onwards, the Indian team has done well and it has dominated the series.”

He went on to say: “Being so aggressive and trying to take on the Indian spinners in difficult times (situations) rather than hanging around and trying to make a big score.

“Rohit Sharma again has been very tactful. You know he knew exactly what he wanted to do and he got his bowlers to do that. I don’t think England changed their strategy.

“They went on the same attacking mode like what they did in the first Test match. But, I think, Rohit was more patient because he had the first Test in his pocket at one stage and then he let it go. He was patient enough in the next two Tests and won both.”

Unsurprisingly England shrugged off the criticism.

Assistant coach Marcus Trescothick played down concerns regarding his team’s batting.

Bairstow’s best has been 38 in nine innings on the tour, with the middle-order batsman managing just 199 runs.

India's Kuldeep Yadav celebrates the wicket of Ben Stokes. Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP.

Root shrugged off a poor run with a century in the previous match, and Stokes has failed to convert starts into bigger scores.

“I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily scars emerging, I think they’ve been tested — and you know you always will be in this environment,” Trescothick told reporters.

“It’s a hard place to come and play, results show you that it’s always tricky,” he added.

“Many of the players will look at the success, and how they’ve played to be able to build upon that -- and maybe the next time they come, they’ll be better than what they are.”

England’s attacking “Bazball” style of play has come under fire after they won the opener but lost the next three Tests, with their batting often letting them down.

Crawley has been England’s best with 407 runs, but he is well behind series leader Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has accumulated 712 runs for India, including two double centuries.

“What is it when players don’t score runs? It’s lack of form, confidence,” said Trescothick.

“That’s what happens; people go through spells where they don’t score the volume of runs,” he added.

“It’s not technical, it can be mental, it can be confidence -- all these different things.”

Ollie Pope started the series with a match-winning 196 in Hyderabad, but has since failed to fire as he scored two ducks in the previous loss.

He was out for 11 in the morning session after jumping out to counter Yadav’s spin and getting stumped.

Credit needs to be paid to India’s attack.

Yadav took five wickets on the opening day with fellow spinner Ravichandran Ashwin — playing his landmark 100th Test — taking four wickets.

England was bowled out in less than 58 overs.

— with AFP