ENG vs IND | Stokes, Duckett and Crawley shine as England have field day in Manchester

India started the second day of the fourth Test against England on the wrong foot, losing in-form batter Ravindra Jadeja in the second over of the day. The hosts were immediately rewarded after taking the new ball in the first over as Jofra Archer induced an edge from the Indian all-rounder with an outswinging delivery. However, overnight batter Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar put their head down to frustrate England with a valuable partnership. The duo added 48 runs in 101 balls for the sixth wicket, but England skipper Ben Stokes once again came up with a crucial dismissal at the stroke of lunch to end the Mumbai all-rounder’s gritty knock of 41 off 88 balls. Indian vice-captain Rishabh Pant walked in, amid loud cheers all over the ground, to continue his innings despite being diagnosed with a fracture on his right foot and ruled out of the remainder of the series. He and Sundar ensured India did not lose a third wicket in the session as India closed at 321/6, adding only 57 runs to their overnight score of 264.

Just as the duo was settling in and guiding India in search of a formidable total, Stokes once again returned to throw a spanner in the Indian team’s works. The England skipper priced out Sundar with the short-ball ploy as the batter ended up hooking a shot straight to Chris Woakes at fine leg. Two balls later, he dismissed Anshul Kamboj for his fifth wicket of the game as the visitors were eight down for 337. After playing a waiting game, Pant finally shifted gears, pulling Archer for a six and cover-driving Stokes to reach his 18th half-century in Test cricket. But Archer cleaned him up in the next over with the off-stump going for a cartwheel before sending back Jasprit Bumrah to end the Indian innings at 358. Sai Sudharsan, who scored 61 on day one, was the top scorer for the visitors, while Stokes ended with figures of 5/72 and Archer had 3/73.

The pair further extended England’s advantage in the final session with Duckett reaching his 50 in just 46 balls and the side crossing the 100-run mark in the 19th over. Crawley brought his fifty with a four off Shardul Thakur and then accelerated to outscore his opening partner. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja finally came up with the much-needed breakthrough as he dismissed Crawley, with KL Rahul completing a low catch at first slip. However, Duckett continued unabated, scoring boundaries frequently, as he looked all set to reach his seventh century in Tests. But he became Kamboj’s first international wicket, edging one to wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel against the run of play. Ollie Pope and Joe Root remained unbeaten at the crease with England placed comfortably to go past India’s total on the third day.