ENG vs IND | Gill and Rahul’s fighting knocks keep England at bay in Manchester

‌KL Rahul and Shubman Gill came up with resilient half-centuries to frustrate England on day four of the fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. India ended proceedings at 174/2, with Rahul and Gill still unbeaten on 86 and 77, respectively, and need another 137 runs to go past England’s first innings total. Earlier, Ben Stokes completed his 14th century in Test cricket to power his side to a gargantuan 669, an overall lead of 311 runs.

Starting day four at 544/7, England piled on further misery on India in the fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. Skipper Ben Stokes signalled his intent in just the second over of the day as he stepped out to smash Mohammed Siraj through the covers for a boundary. Stokes and Liam Dawson scored two more fours in Siraj’s next over as England motored on. Though Jasprit Bumrah cleaned up Liam Dawson in the next, Brydon Carse joined the southpaw to further England’s advantage. The England captain completed his century, his 14th in Tests, in the 146th over with a four off his pads against Siraj. The England all-rounder shifted gears, smashing three sixes and two fours, before getting out for 141. Meanwhile, Carse (47) also joined in with two sixes and fours, missing out on a well-deserved half-century as the England innings folded out for a mammoth 669. Ravindra Jadeja was the most successful bowler for India picking up 4/143 while Bumrah and Washington Sundar had two wickets each.

With 311 runs required to match the England total, India had the worst possible start, losing opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan in the first over. Chris Woakes came from around the stumps and swung the ball away from the left-handers to get both of them caught at slips with the score reading zero. India went in for lunch at a precarious 1/2 with KL Rahul and captain Shubman Gill at the crease.

The pair slowly, but steadily, found their feet, with Gill scoring two boundaries in the ninth over off Woakes to signal a shift in momentum. The Indian skipper repeated the feat against Brydon Carse in his second over, while Rahul was assured as ever, holding the other end up. The middle-order batter was lucky enough when Dawson dropped him at gully off Carse when he was on 46, but he went on to complete his fifty just before tea. The duo added 85 runs in 26 overs in the second session without losing a wicket as India were placed at 86/2.

They continued to dominate proceedings in the final session too, with Rahul completing a patient half-century, off 141 balls. The Indian opener outscored his skipper in the post-tea session to end at 13 runs short of his third century on this tour. Rahul scored 57 runs, which included six boundaries, more than double of Gill’s tally of 26 in the third session. The pair’s unbeaten stand of 174 kept the fight alive for India as another day of exciting cricket beckons.