INDIA TOUR OF ENGLAND, 2025
Rishabh Pant took on the bowlers once he occupied the crease © Getty
England picked up two wickets on the fourth morning of the second Test in Birmingham, including that of half-centurion KL Rahul. But it was a productive session for India thanks to Rishabh Pant’s flamboyant batting and his unbroken 51-run stand with Shubman Gill. India scored 113 runs off 25 overs in the session, as they moved to 177 for 3 at Lunch on Day 4, leading by 357 runs.
On an overcast morning at Edgbaston, Chris Woakes found little assistance from the pitch, but Brydon Carse extracted some bounce to trouble the batters. He induced an edge from Rahul, only for the ball to race past second slip for four. Earlier in the same over, Rahul struck the first four of the day with a crisp cover drive off a full delivery. Carse continued to pose questions, this time to Karun Nair, getting one to nip back from a short length and strike him on the helmet. Another delivery took the edge but flew between first and second slip for a boundary.
Carse continued to probe the second-wicket pair with varying lengths outside off, but Rahul and Nair ensured the runs kept flowing. They capitalised on the occasional loose delivery and steadily extended their partnership to 45 before Carse lured Nair into a drive and had him caught behind for 26. India brought up their 100 inside the first hour, but Carse continued to find enough movement to keep the batters wary. England, meanwhile, burned a review for an LBW appeal against Gill, with replays confirming a clear inside edge.
Rahul brought up his fifty early in the second hour with a well-timed three through cover off Josh Tongue, and Gill followed it up with a boundary through the same region. Ben Stokes then found the outside edge of Rahul’s bat, but the ball evaded the slip cordon and ran away for four, taking India’s lead past 300. Rahul’s innings came to an end soon after, bowled by a superb delivery from Tongue that angled in and straightened to hit the stumps. Pant got off the mark in style, helping a short ball from Tongue past fine leg for four, before launching an authoritative six over long-off.
Pant also had a lucky break as he was put down at mid-off by Zak Crawley off Stokes and he capitalised on the miss as he struck a four and an audacious sweep for a six off Tongue. The southpaw then pulled Shoaib Bashir for two fours in his first over, lost his bat trying to hack a Tongue delivery, was nearly caught off a leading edge and was nearly bowled by the offspinner. But he rode his luck and continued his attacking approach, with a boundary off Bashir extending the lead past 350 before the break.
Brief scores: India 587 & 177/3 (KL Rahul 55, Rishabh Pant 41*; Josh Tongue 2-50) lead England 407 by 357 runs.
© Cricbuzz
