MANCHESTER: DAY One of the fourth Test between India and England here at the Old Trafford Ground swung both ways on Wednesday as the two teams looked to outdo each other in an evenly contested battle. The visitors started brilliantly despite being asked to bat in overcast conditions but the hosts wrested back the control every time Shubman Gill and Co looked set to break free.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) and B Sai Sudharsan (61) slammed a fifty each but it was England skipper Ben Stokes, who stole the limelight with his near perfect bowling changes and incisive spells that earned him important wickets in form of Gill and Sudharsan. Injury on right foot to wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, that forced him off the field mid innings, didn't help India's cause either.
Earlier, Stokes once again won the toss, fourth in a row, and invited India to bat. With the typical Manchester weather and clouds covering the sky completely, the decision seemed perfect. The Englishman did the same in 2023 against Australia and the bowlers proved him right as they reduced their opponents to 299/8 at stumps on Day 1. The hosts could be deemed unlucky in that match as rain prevented any play on the last day helping the visitors to escape unhurt despite being in a precarious position.
But by doing so, Stokes once again challenged the old standing record of the venue, to be precise 141-year-old, as a team opting to field first has never won a match here. England had invited their opponents to bat four times before Wednesday and ended up losing a match and drawing the remaining three. It was late Shane Warne's ball of the century that hogged the limelight in their only loss 32 years ago.
But this English team being led by their inspiring captain seems hellbent on rewriting the history. The first two hours of the play, however, suggested they might have erred in their decision as India openers KL Rahul and Jaiswal gave a solid start to the team. They, especially Jaiswal, did offer a couple of chances but the visitors went into the lunch unscathed with the scoreboard reading 78 for no loss after 26 overs.
Chris Woakes, who bowled a wonderful first spell of eight overs without any success to his name, gave the team an opening when he dismissed Rahul in the fourth over after the break. The India batter looked to punch an away going delivery off the back foot but could only edge it to third slip where Zak Crawley made no mistake.
The crucial breakthrough infused new energy into the England side as Brydon Carse and Woakes bowled two maiden overs to put pressure on Jaiswal and B Sai Sudharsan. They succeeded in their plans as the India batters could score only seven runs in five overs since Rahul's departure. Jaiswal completed his half-century in the process but England seemed in control at that stage of the game.
In his bid to prevent the match from drifting away, Stokes then reintroduced Jofra Archer with two left-hand batters at the crease and brought on left-arm spinner Liam Dawson from the other end, in the 39th over of the innings. The move immediately paid off as the 35-year-old Dawson, playing his first Test since 2017, struck in his only seventh ball to send back set batter Jaiswal. The southpaw tried to defend the ball pitched outside the off stump but it didn't come on his bat as he expected. A thick outside edge was safely pouched by Harry Brook at first slip.
Stokes returned a few overs later and almost produced a wicket but wicketkeeper Jamie Smith dropped Sai Sudharsan on the leg side. The Tamil Nadu batter returning to the side after being dropped following the first match, was on 20 then. The reprieve, however, spurred on Stokes as he got the prized scalp of his counterpart from the opposition camp, Gill, who did not offer a shot to a delivery which pitched outside off stump but came back sharply. The Indian captain reviewed it only to lose the appeal.
If India were dominant in the morning, it was England who came back strongly post lunch to reduce their rivals to 149/3 in 52 overs at tea. Three dismissals for just 71 runs pushed back India but Sai Sudharsan along with Pant rebuilt the innings adding 72 for the fourth wicket unless the wicketkeeper-batter tried to reverse sweep Woakes' yorker length delivery. The ball kissed the bat before hitting Pant on the outside of his right leg. Pant, who was on 37 off 48 then, was treated on the field by the physio but he was in immense pain and unable to land his foot with clear swelling where he was hit. Pant was taken off the field with Ravindra Jadeja replacing him in the middle.
Sai Sudharshan completed his maiden Test fifty in the next over bowled by Joe Root but soon perished trying to pull Stokes over long leg. All-rounder Shardul Thakur joined Jadeja in the middle. With the light fading fast, England decided not to take the new ball after 80 overs. Spinners Root and Dawson bowled in tandem to throw in a few quick overs in the dying minutes.
Earlier, India made three changes replacing Karun Nair with Sai Sudharsan and bringing in debutant Anshul Kamboj and Shardul Thakur in place of injured Akash Deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy