MANCHESTER, England – On Day 2 of the fourth Test against India at Old Trafford, England had a lot of control, ending the day with a good score of 225 runs for the loss of two wickets. Ben Duckett (94) and Zak Crawley (84) put together a strong opening partnership of 166 runs, which formed the foundation of their innings. The Three Lions are still 133 runs behind India’s first-innings total of 358. When the stumps were called, Ollie Pope (20) and Joe Root (11) were still at the crease.
Duckett (43) and Crawley (33) promptly got to work on England’s reply as the third session resumed at 77/0. Duckett hit a boundary off Shardul Thakur in the 19th over to reach his half-century. This shot also gave England their hundred. In the 21st over, Crawley did the same thing, hitting another boundary off Thakur to get to fifty. The two kept scoring quickly, and England passed the 150-run mark in the 29th over when Duckett hit a boundary off Mohammed Siraj.
In the 32nd over, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja finally broke up the huge opening stand by getting Zak Crawley out for 84 runs off 113 balls. Ollie Pope stepped out to bat after Crawley left.
England lost their second wicket when the score was 197. Anshul Kamboj, who was playing his first Test match, took his first wicket by sending Ben Duckett back to the pavilion after scoring 94 runs off 100 balls. This kept Duckett from getting a well-deserved century. Ollie Pope and Joe Root then went to the middle. Pope hit a boundary against Kamboj in the 39th over, which helped England reach 200 runs. At the end of the day, Pope and Root had put up a 28-run partnership off 47 balls.
Anshul Kamboj (1/48 in 10 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/37 in 8 overs) were the only bowlers to take wickets for the Indian team led by Shubman Gill. Indian fast bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah (0/37), Mohammed Siraj (0/58), and Shardul Thakur (0/35) had a hard time keeping their lines and lengths consistent, which let the English openers score easily.
Earlier in the day, India’s first innings ended with a score of 358 all out. The score was 321/6 with Rishabh Pant (39) and Washington Sundar (20). Ben Stokes, the captain of England, was the best bowler, taking five wickets for 72 runs in 24 overs. This was his first five-wicket haul in eight years. In the 110th over, he took out Sundar (27) and Anshul Kamboj (0), who was playing his first game. This brought India’s score to 337.
Rishabh Pant, who bravely battled with a broken toe on Day 1, hit a boundary off Stokes on the first ball of the 112th over to reach his half-century. But his brave innings of 54 runs off 75 balls came to an end at 349 when right-arm seamer Jofra Archer (3/73 in 26.1 overs) got him out. Then, Mohammed Siraj came out to bat. Archer took out Jasprit Bumrah (4) on the opening ball of the 115th over, and India was finally bowled out at 358. England also got a wicket from Chris Woakes (1/66) and Liam Dawson (1/45). The BCCI then said Pant would not keep wickets for the rest of the match, and Dhruv Jurel would take over.
England’s openers, Duckett and Crawley, started off slowly in reaction to India’s total, but they quickly switched to an aggressive style, focusing on Indian pacers Siraj and Kamboj, who had trouble with their lines at first. Bumrah also cost a lot in his first spell.
In the opening session of Day 2, India only scored 57 runs in 22 overs and lost two important wickets. Jofra Archer got rid of Ravindra Jadeja for 20 runs early on. Shardul Thakur (41) then showed strength, but Ben Stokes finally got rid of him. Rishabh Pant’s brave return to bat despite his injury was the most motivating moment for India in the morning session. The audience gave him a thunderous round of applause.
India’s first innings: 358 all out (Sai Sudarshan 61, Yashasvi Jaiswal 58, Rishabh Pant 54; Ben Stokes 5/72, Jofra Archer 3/73)
England’s first innings score was 225 for 2, with Ben Duckett scoring 94 and Zak Crawley scoring 84. Ravindra Jadeja took 1 wicket for 37 runs, and Anshul Kamboj took 1 wicket for 48 runs.