Gill and Rahul defy England after Stokes piles the runs in a riveting exhibition of cricket on Day 4 at Manchester.
Superman Stokes puts England in command but Gill and Rahul keep India in the fight.
England concluded day four with a total of 137 runs and two Indian wickets still intact, largely due to the efforts of their captain. Achieving a century and taking five wickets in the same Test match, he has guided his team to their fifth-highest total ever in this format. He has joined an exclusive club, one that includes only two other legends. The elite duo. The ultimate pair.
Prior to Saturday, only Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis could proudly claim to have amassed 7000 runs and taken 200 wickets in Test cricket. Now they must make room. The rich history of cricket and its intricate present have collided significantly over the last two days, thanks to Joe Root and his successor.
A lead of 311 runs appeared to be a match-winning advantage, especially with Chris Woakes on the verge of a hat-trick in his very first over. India found themselves on the field for 943 deliveries. The exhaustion that followed led to the downfall of two of their top-order batsmen within five overs. Shubman Gill and KL Rahul came together with the score at 0 for 2 and managed to string together consecutive wicketless sessions (indicating that the pitch has become more favorable) to ensure their team could extend the contest to the final day, when rain is anticipated in the morning.
England concluded with a total of 669, marking their fifth-best score in Test matches and their highest since achieving 823 against Pakistan in October 2024. Stokes scored the final 41 runs of his 141 in just 34 deliveries, which included all three of his sixes. He struck one of them with such power – the fielder at long-off was left helpless – that his follow-through had him twirling around, nearly turning the opposite direction on the field. He appeared to be moved as he reached his first century in 35 innings, and displayed a sense of vengeance afterwards.
India had a mere 15 minutes to wrap up before lunch. England clearly aimed to capitalize on that time. Woakes immediately switched to bowling around the wicket, and that choice paid off significantly. Yashasvi Jaiswal couldn’t resist playing at the ball. With the angle coming towards him, he attempted a shot, closing the bat’s face, but a stunning delivery, moving away off the seam, caught the edge and went to Root at first slip. He made a mistake on the first attempt but secured it on the second. B Sai Sudharsan then stepped in, serving as a prime example of what occurs to a team after spending 157.1 overs in the field.
Gill appeared anxious at the beginning. His front pad was a prominent target. In Test cricket, thirty-seven percent of his dismissals come from lbw and being bowled, and England targeted this again. Gill attempted a shot away from his body and instantly showed his disappointment in himself. Eventually, he glanced up and noticed it sped away toward the cover boundary. From that point on, he chose to believe in his abilities and play his shots.
Rahul was traditional from the very beginning. He trusted his skills even when the new ball extracted significant movement from the pitch. He found excitement in this challenge and exchanged grins with Archer when a phenomenal delivery zipped past his outside edge.
Rahul’s ability to discern what to play and what to leave alone was even more remarkable given the long duration India spent in the field and the fact that they were falling behind in the match.
A day five with immense possibility awaits.