ENG vs IND, 4th Test Day 5 Live: Shubman, KL hope to keep India alive amidst rain threat in Manchester

India Today

27-07-2025

Indian team is young and it is going to slowly figure its way around Test cricket, says Deep Dasgupta.
What has impressed Dasgupta is the fighting spirit of the Indian team.
On my way to Day 5 of the Manchester Test and can't help but think that this team, full of young faces, has established its identity as fighters. The philosophy, though, it seems, is work in progress. pic.twitter.com/GqIU1JBmkV
— Deep Dasgupta (@DeepDasgupta7) July 27, 2025
The weather is set to play a key part in the outcome of this Test match.
Here's how the weather prediction looks like at the Old Trafford on Sunday, July 27.
KL Rahul is batting at his absolute best in Test cricket right now. India Today's Saurabh Kumar hopes that he can be India's Guardian Angel today.
India Today's Akshay Ramesh writes that India need to show 750 grams of grit and need to have 250 grams of luck.
Read here
"What is coming through for everyone, despite India's heroism with the bat, is that the selections have been quite poor. We saw what Shardul Thakur was capable of in the first Test match, but despite that he was picked again. And we saw the repeat of that inclination to have a bowler who can bat a bit. I think that thought has to be dumped, and India in this Test match needed a pure batter," Sanjay Manjrekar said on Day 4 of the Manchester Test.
"KL Rahul and Shubman Gill have tried their best to salvage the situation, but a pure batter in the team would have been handy, plus a pure wicket-taker. It has been hard to understand why India look to get players who have two skills rather than just go for quality. Kuldeep Yadav not playing the whole series tells you the approach of this Indian team management. They say that India need 20 wickets, but it's going to be difficult to convince me, because if that was the case, Kuldeep would have played by now," Manjrekar concluded.
While there is hope, and miracle rescues have happened before, make no mistake - India have been outplayed in Manchester.
First, a disciplined bowling display helped England put tremendous pressure on India. The visiting side did well to show a lot of grit and grind out runs, but the injury to Rishabh Pant, ruined all of their plans.
With the bat, Ben Stokes' England made merry on the pitch and hit nearly 700 runs.
This has put a lot of focus on the team selection done by coach Gambhir, and rightly so. Since taking over the Test, this is the third straight series loss that India are staring at.
India captain Shubman Gill and senior batter KL Rahul put in a heroic partnership on Day 4. After India went down 0/2, the duo added 174 runs and kept India from collapsing early in their final innings.
Indian fans would be hoping once again that they deliver. If rain plays its part on Day 5, India might just stage a great escape in Manchester.
Hello and welcome to India Today's live coverage of the India vs England Test series. It is the final day of the 4th Test match, and it is possible that we might get an epic finish.
As always, I am Kingshuk Kusari and I will take you through the day's play.