Manchester, UK : England showed they were in charge on Day Three of the Fourth Test against India in Manchester. Joe Root scored a huge 150 runs, and skipper Ben Stokes scored a tough half-century. At the close of play on Friday, England was in a strong position with a score of 544/7, which was 186 runs ahead of India’s first innings total. Stokes scored 77 runs without losing, with Liam Dawson helping him with 21.
Evening Session: Stokes and Dawson Stand Strong After losing some late wickets, England started the last session at 433/4, with Root on 121 not out and Stokes on 36 not out. It was good news for India when Jasprit Bumrah was able to open the bowling again, even though he had some trouble walking in the last session. In 105.4 overs, England soon went over 450 runs.
England did have some worries during the session, though. Ben Stokes grabbed his left leg during the 108th over while trying to hit a reverse-sweep against Washington Sundar. This could mean he has a problem with his hamstring or calf. Even though he was in pain, he stubbornly fought on and got his first fifty of the series off 97 balls, including three fours. Stokes left the field after hitting a lot of rapid runs against Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja. He was wounded and had to leave the game at 66*, clearly lim Looming.
Joe Root, on the other hand, kept up his great innings, hitting 150 runs off 246 balls with 14 boundaries. After drinks, India eventually got a break when Ravindra Jadeja threw a sharply spinning ball that got Root out for 150. Dhruv Jurel, the wicketkeeper, did a great job of stumping, and England was down to five wickets at 499. In 119.4 overs, England scored 500 runs.
India was able to get back some of their momentum by taking two quick wickets. Jasprit Bumrah got Jamie Smith out for 9 runs, and Mohammed Siraj knocked Chris Woakes’ stumps down for just 4 runs. After working hard for a long time, both pacers finally got what they wanted, leaving England at 528/7. Stokes, who had wounded himself earlier and had withdrew, came back to the crease as a show of defiance. Stokes, along with Liam Dawson, made sure that England didn’t lose any more wickets in the last overs, leaving them in a strong position at the end of the day.
After lunch, Root’s records and Stokes’ partnership
Ollie Pope (70) and Joe Root (63) were at the crease when the second session started. England was 332/2, just 26 runs behind. Washington Sundar came into the attack just after lunch and got two wickets, sending Ollie Pope and Harry Brook back to the bench. These were really important breakthroughs for India.
After these wickets, Ben Stokes came to the middle with Root. In the 94th over, the two of them soon forged a strong partnership, hitting 50 runs for the fifth wicket. This was also when England crossed the 400-run barrier. Root, who has been playing quite well lately, scored his 38th Test century by hitting the ball to fine leg for a boundary off Anshul Kamboj in the 96th over. This century was his 23rd Test hundred at home, which ties the record for most home Test centuries with cricketing greats Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, and Mahela Jayawardene. Root added to his impressive record against India by becoming the player with the most Test cricket hundreds (12) against the Men in Blue, passing Steve Smith.
At tea, Root and Stokes had scored a crucial 84 runs off 131 balls, bringing England’s score to 433/4 and their lead to 75 runs. Root was on 121* and Stokes was on 36*.
Pope and Root in the Morning Session Get Ready
Ollie Pope (20) and Joe Root (11) started Day Three for England at 225/2. The hosts had a good attitude at the start of the day, even if Mohammed Siraj gave up some early runs and India missed a chance to run out Root. The combination between Root and Pope kept getting stronger till it reached 50 runs.
With a well-timed pull shot for four against Bumrah, Ollie Pope helped England get past 250 runs in 54.5 overs. Root also passed Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis to become the third-highest run-scorer of all time in Test cricket during his innings. This shows how consistently great he is. Even though Indian pacers Bumrah, Siraj, and Anshul Kamboj kept trying, the Root-Pope pair kept scoring runs at a good pace.
Pope hit six fours and reached fifty in 93 balls, showing that he was back to his best. It was hard for Kamboj to get rid of Pope in the 63rd over, but wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel couldn’t hold onto a hard catch as Pope tried to steer the ball past the third man area. Pope hit a stunning straight shot off a full-length delivery from Kamboj to bring their important 100-run partnership to 172 balls. In 66.5 overs, England scored 300 runs, and Root got his half-century off 99 balls with six fours. The two kept scoring easily against the spin of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, which made sure that England ended the first session on a positive note.
England: 544/7 (Joe Root 150, Ben Stokes 77*, Ravindra Jadeja 2/117) vs India: 358 (Sai Sudharsan 61, Rishabh Pant 58, Ben Stokes 5/72).