INDIA TOUR OF ENGLAND, 2025
Ben Stokes celebrates the wicket of Shubman Gill © Getty
England’s persistent lines, and also some help in terms of movement, helped the hosts bag three wickets in the second session, having gone wicketless in the opening session. Chris Woakes, Liam Dawson and Ben Stokes got amongst the wickets, accounting for KL Rahul (46), Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) and Shubman Gill (12) respectively as India went into Tea on Day 1 of the Manchester Test at 149 for 3, with 71 runs coming in the session.
The second session got underway with Jaiswal striking fours through point off Brydon Carse. Jaiswal and Rahul also raised India’s highest opening stand in this series but the partnership came to an end on 94 when the latter tried to punch a Woakes delivery off the backfoot, edging it to third slip. The English pacers were probing outside off against both Jaiswal and No.3 Sai Sudharsan, but the former managed to guide a shorter one from Carse to the third-man fence to move to 49. Sudharsan got off the mark with a couple and Jaiswal got to fifty, with the two batters also collecting a couple of fours. Liam Dawson was finally introduced into the attack and the left-arm spinner found the edge of Jaiswal’s bat but the ball went past slip. Jaiswal, meanwhile, went past 1000 Test runs against England, becoming the joint second-quickest Indian batter to the milestone.
Dawson ended the promising partnership early in the second hour of the second session, getting Jaiswal to edge to slip. Sudharsan and Gill then began the rebuilding job, initially watchful in their partnership before scoring boundaries off the spinner. Sudharsan got a reprieve as Jamie Smith put him down the leg side off Stokes, who was targetting that particular line the left-hander was susceptible to. Stokes, though, had success soon after as he trapped Gill in front who shouldered arms, with the Indian captain costing his team a review as well. Stokes went short at Sudharsan, who pulled one for a four but nearly handed a catch to leg-slip as well. Sudharsan and Rishabh Pant ensured there was no further damage leading into the break.
Earlier, India enjoyed a strong start on an overcast morning at Old Trafford, reaching 78 for 0 at Lunch. England captain Stokes won the toss for the fourth successive time and opted to bowl. The hosts made one change, bringing in Dawson for Shoaib Bashir, while India made three – Sudharsan came in for Karun Nair, Shardul Thakur replaced Nitish Reddy, and Anshul Khamboj was handed his Test debut in place of Akash Deep.
Rahul and Jaiswal ensured a wicketless session despite some testing spells from the England bowlers. Woakes beat Jaiswal’s bat twice in the opening over and even snapped his bat handle later, but the left-hander responded with confident strokes, including a boundary past mid-off and later a six off Stokes. Rahul, meanwhile, played a composed knock, picking the loose deliveries for boundaries. While Jofra Archer bowled a miserly opening spell, Rahul and Jaiswal saw off the threat, with Carse and Stokes, and also Archer late in the session, probing without success.
Brief scores: India 149/3 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 58, KL Rahul 46; Liam Dawson 1-21, Ben Stokes 1-24) vs England.
© Cricbuzz
