England post 669: Root scores 150, Stokes hits 141: India 174/2 at stumps
Manchester: Skipper Shubman Gill and KL Rahul made resolute fifties as India gallantly fought England bowlers to reach 174 for two at stumps on Day 4 of the fourth Test in Manchester on Saturday.
Gill (78 batting) and Rahul (87 batting) added 174 runs for the unbroken third wicket stand after India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan in the first over of the second innings itself to pacer Chris Woakes.
The visitors now trail England by 137 runs.
India started their second innings 311 runs behind England after the hosts made an imposing 669 all out in their first dig.
England extended their grip on the match through skipper Ben Stokes who made his 14th Test hundred, a 198-ball 141.
For India, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja was the most successful bowler with a four-wicket haul.
At 0/2 in five balls of the second innings, Gill came in on a hat-trick ball with India under immense pressure, but he and Rahul – two calm individuals in their demeanour and temperament – showed their skill and immense mental toughness to have consecutive wicketless sessions.
The final session began with Rahul and Gill being watchful for quite some time before the former got his first boundary by guiding Jofra Archer late through third man for four, before bringing up his half-century.
While Gill turned out to old-school batting mode, Rahul let go of menacing bouncers from Archer and hit boundaries on the ones which were short and wide, before Gill drove him through cover for four more.
Against Chris Woakes, used his pace to cut between slip and gully for four, before slashing a wide ball through point for another boundary. When spinners Liam Dawson and Joe Root came on, Rahul and Gill were happy rotating the strike against them, apart from taking a boundary before stumps came on an engrossing day of Test cricket, which in turn has set the stage for a gripping day five.
Brief Scores: India 358 and 174/2 in 63 overs (KL Rahul 87 not out, Shubman Gill 78 not out; Chris Woakes 2-48) trail England 669 in 157.1 overs (Joe Root 150, Ben Stokes 141; Ravindra Jadeja 4-143, Washington Sundar 2-107) by 137 runs. IANS
Highest team scores against India:
1. Sri Lanka 952/6d, Colombo (1997)
2. Sri Lanka 760/7d, Ahmedabad (2009)
3. England 710/7d, Birmingham (2011)
4. Pakistan 699/5d, Lahore (1989)
5. New Zealand 680/8d, Wellington (2014)
6. Pakistan 679/7d, Lahore (2006)
7. Australia 674, Adelaide (1948)
8. Pakistan 674/6, Faisalabad (1984)
9. England 669, Manchester (2025)
10. Australia 659/4d, Sydney (2012)
Also Read: Shubman Gill wanting to show that it’s his team now: Ricky Ponting
Also Watch: