With Joe Root and Ben Stokes' massive centuries giving the Three Lions a gigantic 311-run lead over India, which scored 358 in their first innings, the task of achieving a win looks near impossible, with India having scored 174/2, with Gill (78*) and KL (87*) standing strong after the visito
Stokes, who had troubles with his left leg on day three which forced him to walk off the field, returned to bat and scored his first Test century in two years, slamming a brilliant 141 in 198 balls, with 11 fours and three sixes to take England to 669 in response to India's 358 in the first
"We expected to get a few more wickets after the first over of the day. Well, the third innings that I thought we...you know, with the ball nipping around, you felt like it was going to do a bit more," he added.
England are keeping fingers crossed that their star all-rounder Ben Stokes will be fit enough to bowl on the final day of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, after KL Rahul and Shubman Gill stitched together a marathon partnership that left England struggling without their main man with the bal
This is England's second-highest total against India, only behind 710/7d at Edgbaston, 2011. India had a poor start to their second innings, losing Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan in the first over for ducks each. India were 1/2 at Lunch with KL Rahul 1* and Shubman Gill 0* unbeaten on th
The century against India was a significant one for Stokes as it ended a two-year wait for a Test hundred, his last coming during the Ashes in July 2023.
India find themselves in a challenging spot, with England posting 544/7 by stumps on Day 3 and taking a commanding 186-run lead. With the surface showing significant wear and tear, the visitors will need to stage a strong comeback to keep the series alive.
Root achieved this feat in the fourth Test at Old Trafford cricket ground on Friday. Root was removed by World No.1 all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for a brilliant 150 in 248, consisting of 14 fours.
He also completed 11000 runs in his international career across all formats in his outing against India, as he remained unbeaten on 77 at the end of Day 3. England ended the day at 544/7, leading by 186 runs.
After England elected to bowl first and reduced India to 358 runs in the first innings, they replied with 544/7 at the end of day three, thanks to brilliant fifties from Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Ben Stokes and a historic century from Joe Root, which helped him leapfrog above