Manchester: Captain Shubman Gill and the ever-dependable K L Rahul gave India a glimmer of hope with resilient half-centuries after a well crafted hundred from Ben Stokes extended England’s supremacy in the fourth Test here on Saturday.
Having lost Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan for no run in the second innings, Gill (78 batting off 167 balls) and Rahul (87 batting off 210 balls) showed plenty of patience in their 174-run stand to substantially cut England’s massive 311-run lead. At stumps on day four, India stood at 174 for two after two wicketless sessions, still trailing the hosts by 137 runs.
England were all out for 669 in the morning session following Stokes’ special 141 off 198 balls that came after a five wicket haul on Friday.
The highly skilled duo of Gill and Rahul could have taken more risk against left-arm spinner Liam Dawson but both did play some sizzling drives against the fast bowlers.
England tried plenty of things in the final session including peppering the well set pair with short balls but Rahul and Gill were unfazed.
England have purposefully targeted Gill’s pads sensing a weakness but the Indian captain found a way to survive a lethal spell from Archer.
Rahul, on the other hand, has looked chanceless in the series, playing the ball late with a water-tight defence. England pacers seemed to be getting plenty of movement in the air and off the pitch but batting became easier in the final session with sun emerging from the clouds at Old Trafford.
Rahul’s square cuts and back cuts were regal and was on par with Gordon Greenidge and Virender Sehwag, two of the best exponents of shots square off the track.
The nature of the surface has been slow and dry this season with none of the four county games here producing a result. India will have that piece of information at the back of their mind.
In the afternoon session, Gill overcame initial jitters for a hard fought fifty leading India’s show of resistance in a wicketless afternoon session to leave the visitors at 86 for two.
England fast bowlers, especially Jofra Archer, hurled inswingers into Gill’s pads but the Indian captain was able to survive those testing moments before playing sumptuous strokes.
Gill also had the luck on his side as he was dropped by Dawson off Brydon Carse at backward point on 46. Gill played some stunning straight drives and cover drives on way to a gritty half-century. In the 17th over, he collected back to back boundaries off Archer, first was a crisp cover drive followed by an upper cut. He also hit consecutive boundaries off Carse including a regal on drive.
In the morning session, India made a disastrous start to their second innings after Stokes struck a stroke-filled hundred following his five-wicket haul to help England take a massive 311-run lead.
With England posting a mammoth 669 in the morning session, India came out roughly 20 minutes before lunch.
It was hara-kiri in the middle as Jaiswal and Sudharsan departed in successive balls in the first over of India’s innings.
Jaiswal tried to flick a ball off Chris Woakes but was caught by Joe Root at first slip after a fumble. The very next ball Sudharsan was late in leaving the ball and ended up giving catching practice to Harry Brook at second slip.
Like it was the case in the second innings, England fast bowlers seem to get a lot more out of the pitch than the Indians in this brief passage of play.
Resuming the day at 544 for seven, England effectively batted India out of the game. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj looked in good rhythm and bowled with a lot more intensity than shown on Friday but it was not enough to stop England from amassing the highest total at Old Trafford.
Bumrah ended with figures of 33-5-112-2, the first time he conceded 100 runs or more in what has been phenomenal Test career.
Stokes began the day by stepping out to Siraj and dispatching him through the cover region before playing an expansive drive off the Indian workhorse.
He completed a rare double of 100 and a five wicket haul in the same with a tickle down the leg side off Siraj that went for four. The hundred, coming after two years, meant a lot to him.
When Stokes made room to whack Washington Sundar down the ground for six, he became only the third cricketer to complete 7000 runs and 200 wickets after Jacques Kallis and Gary Sobers.
With England collecting boundaries for fun, it also marked the first time since 2014 that India conceded 600 runs in an innings.
