Manchester, England: India showed significant resilience on Day 4 of the Old Trafford Test, as Shubman Gill (52)* and KL Rahul (30)* batted through the middle session without losing a wicket. Their crucial partnership helped India recover from a dramatic start to their second innings, although they still trail England by 225 runs at tea, with the score at 86 for 2.
England had earlier declared their first innings at a colossal 669, largely propelled by an extraordinary century from captain Ben Stokes. This monumental total, England’s fifth-highest in Test history, provided them with a commanding lead of 311 runs.
Early Drama and Gill’s Record Chase
The start of India’s second innings was nothing short of dramatic. Chris Woakes struck twice in the very first over, dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal for a duck with a peach of a delivery that seamed away to first slip, and then catching B Sai Sudharsan attempting to leave a short, wide delivery, a mistake perhaps born out of the fatigue from spending 157 overs in the field.
Despite this early pressure, Gill and Rahul stabilized the innings. Gill benefited from a dropped tough chance at gully when he was on 46 by Liam Dawson, an opportunity he capitalized on to continue his impressive run-spree. He has now surpassed Virat Kohli’s 655 runs against England in 2016 and is closing in on Sunil Gavaskar’s record of 732 runs as an Indian captain in a Test series.
Stokes’ All-Round Brilliance and Workload
Ben Stokes’ performance has been central to England’s dominance. His century (141 runs) ended a lean patch of 35 innings without a hundred and cemented his place among cricket’s greatest all-rounders. With his century and a five-wicket haul in the first innings, Stokes joined an elite club alongside Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis as only the third player in Test history to achieve 7,000 runs and 200 wickets.
Interestingly, Stokes did not bowl any of the 29 overs in India’s second innings before tea, likely a strategic decision given his significant workload from playing back-to-back Tests and his immense contributions with both bat and ball in this match.
As the match heads into the final day, with a weather forecast of morning rain, the partnership between Gill and Rahul will be critical for India’s hopes of salvaging a draw or pushing for an unlikely victory. Sources
