IND vs ENG, 4th Test Match, Day 2: All Eyes On Pant As India Build On 264

Published on the cusp of play, #PreMatchMemo sets the scene before each Test — spotlighting arcs, angles, and all that’s in play before the first ball is bowled.

Check Day 1 highlights here.

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SHUBMAN GILL would scarcely have been able to believe his luck at the toss on Wednesday when his opposite number Ben Stokes won the coin flip and invited India to bat first. Conventional wisdom would have dictated that batting fourth at Old Trafford — given its slightly dry complexion — would be a tricky task. Still, this is an England team that loves a good chase, and so it was that Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul would stride out to take guard at the start of the Manchester Test.

And for a while — a shade over the first session to be precise, everything seemed to be going India’s way. Edges were falling short of the slips cordon or bisecting it entirely, the runs were coming at a healthy rate, and India were on the verge of crossing the 100-run mark without the loss of a single wicket. Almost as if on cue then, it was time for England’s ever-reliable Chris Woakes to step up with the breakthrough, sending back Rahul four runs shy of yet another 50-plus score this series.

Jaiswal departed soon after, to be followed quite swiftly by Shubman Gill, and at 140/3, the match was perfectly in the balance. However, said balance may have been tipped in England’s favour around 20 overs later when Rishabh Pant copped a painful blow to the foot. The sight of him being ferried off the field in a golf buggy doesn’t augur well for the rest of the match — particularly the second innings, wherein India may be down to only nine batters before even facing a single ball.

Elsewhere on the first day of the Manchester Test, Sai Sudharsan set about making his case for the No 3 spot with a well-compiled 61. However, he blotted his copybook by falling into Stokes’ short-ball trap and passing up the opportunity to build a big innings on a pitch that wasn't particularly treacherous. As it stands, India ended the day on 264/4 with Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur on 19 runs apiece.

THE DAY AHEAD 

Considering the weather forecast for the five days of the Test, it’s prudent to expect rain to arrive sooner or later. And when it does come, India will hope to have put enough runs on the board for the bowlers to be able to push for a win in the remaining days of the match. Under normal circumstances, 264/4 would be a comfortable position to be in after the first day. Alas, this situation is anything but business as usual. Gill and Co trail England 1-2 in the series and simply have to go into the final Test at the Oval on level terms if they harbour any plans of giving the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy a new home.

For starters, Washington Sundar is the only other ‘recognised’ batter after Jadeja and Thakur, and it’ll be down to this trio to do the bulk of the scoring. That’s not all, because the established batters will need to also score these runs at a brisk-ish pace given the threat of rain. Also, if the Lord’s experience is anything by which to go, the tail could be useful in terms of hanging around, but will probably not account for many runs at all. What this means is that we could be in for quite an explosive second day, particularly if Pant is able to squeeze his foot back into a boot.

Moments after being struck on the full by a Woakes delivery, cameras caught a glimpse of the Indian wicketkeeper’s swollen and seemingly bleeding foot. If Pant is able to return to the field, the task of scoring runs quickly might be made simpler, although a lot depends on how effective he remains after suffering that injury.

Moving on to the bowling end of things, India came into the Manchester Test with six bowling options — four quicks and two spinners. A multitude of options isn’t a bad thing to have per se, however and with the benefit of hindsight, the argument can be made that this is perhaps one bowler too many. Thakur bowled a grand total of 16 overs of the 182 bowled by India in the first Test. And while his double-strike to remove centurion Ben Duckett and Harry Brook did keep the match interesting, these were far from hyper-crucial contributions. With the pitch gradually cracking, Sundar and Jadeja may have a major role to play in the fourth innings, but it remains to be seen what Thakur will bring to the table. For the time being, his job will be with the bat and to make sure India put on a sizable first innings total.

Karan Pradhan is editor-in-chief of Story Mode, a gaming and gaming-adjacent magazine. Follow him on X/Twitter @karanpradhan_

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