Cliff Notes – Duckett, Crawley turn up the heat on India after Stokes five-for
- England’s openers, Duckett and Crawley, forged an unbroken partnership of 77 runs, scoring at over five an over, significantly reducing India’s first-innings lead.
- Rishabh Pant’s courageous half-century on a fractured foot highlighted India’s fighting spirit, despite a disappointing bowling display in favourable conditions.
- Ben Stokes achieved his first five-wicket haul in eight years, showcasing his all-round capabilities and surpassing his previous best in a Test series with 16 wickets to date.
Duckett, Crawley turn up the heat on India after Stokes five-for
Tea England 77 for 0 (Duckett 43*, Crawley 33*) trail India 358 (Sudharsan 61, Jaiswal 58, Pant 54, Stokes 5-72) by 281 runs
England backed up their captain Ben Stokes taking a five-for with an unbroken opening partnership of 77. Those runs came at over five an over, taking a big bite out of India’s 358 all out on the second day in Manchester.
It was a disappointing bowling performance from the visitors, particularly in helpful conditions and to follow a display of great bravery from Rishabh Pant who came out to bat on a fractured foot and scored a half-century.
England weren’t particularly keen to score so quickly. Zak Crawley needed 13 balls to get off the mark and those runs came with a reminder of the danger the pitch still posed as a Jasprit Bumrah delivery rose up sharply to rap him on the bottom hand. Crawley displayed excellent judgment outside his off stump and ironically only started to look vulnerable once he had runs against his name, the confidence of seeing off the new ball coaxing him to play away from his body and could have been bowled off the inside edge.
Ben Duckett didn’t need to be so careful, at any point in his innings. India fed him on his pads and he tucked in with glee. All his seven boundaries came on the leg side and he stands on the cusp of completing a half-century at almost a run a ball. Duckett welcomed Anshul Kamboj with three fours in his first over of Test cricket, the debutant chosen to open the bowling ahead of Mohammed Siraj.
India must pick themselves back up again because they showed great heart in getting to an above-par total. Pant put his body on the line – literally because Stokes targeted that broken front foot of his – and had enough in him to hit a 90th six in Test cricket, putting him level with Virender Sehwag for the national record. He also went past Alec Stewart for most runs by a wicketkeeper in a Test series in England. The mere fact that he was able to walk – let alone bat – moved the fans at Old Trafford who gave him a rousing ovation.
Stokes found similar approval from the crowd when his tireless and relentless display was rewarded with a first five-for in eight years. He was a threat when he bowled full because he was getting both ways movement – Shardul Thakur found that out when he was caught at gully for 41 – and he was a threat when he went short – which did Washington Sundar in. Stokes has 16 wickets in the series now, a career-best for him going past the 15 he took in the 2013-14 Ashes when he made his debut.
