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Indian Express
14 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Mission (im) possible: KL Rahul, Shubman Gill battle hard to give India a chance to save fourth Test
A few days back, Indian captain Shubman Gill was asked about the one thing about the new job that surprised him. He would smile and say that he doesn't get tired much as he mostly fields around the pitch but he does get mentally drained at the end of the day. So, after leading his deflated side for 157.1 overs, handling a bowling unit not sticking to plans and battling thoughts of a hard-fought series slipping, Shubman would have been mentally knackered at the end of the England innings. And just as he would have put his leg up in the dressing room, he had to rush back on to the field. The score was 0/2, Chris Woakes was on a hat-trick, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and No.3 Sai Sudharsan were back in the hut. After the worst couple of days of his captaincy, Gill was facing the toughest as skipper. It helped he had with him the calmest mind who was playing the tightest cricket on the tour, KL Rahul. In a partnership of epic proportions, Shubman and Rahul compiled an unbeaten 174, also India's total at stumps to revive a Test that looked lost and a series that seemed over. 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟒: 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐃𝐮𝐨 🤜🤛#KLRahul (87* off 210) and #ShubmanGill (78* off 167) stood strong on Day 4, digging India out of early trouble with a composed and crucial partnership under pressure 🔥 Catch the HIGHLIGHTS of Day 4 ➡ 👉… — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 26, 2025 Trailing by 311 runs and 0/2, the Test seemed irredeemable. Most teams would have given up, most captains would have thrown in the towel but not this one. After playing for two full sessions, facing 317 balls, Shubman (87) and Rahul (78) had given hope when all seemed lost. This is shaping into a partnership that can be compared to the Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman partnership of 2001. In case India can stick around for one more day, this could go down as a Test recovery for ages. There are just two possible results – 'the more likely' England win and after the solid Rahul-Shubman show, the 'not quite impossible' India draw. India has ensured this remains an unputdownable series. Rains are expected on the final day of the Test but so will be an overcast sky. There have been no easy days on this tour and they come with the promise of exciting cricket. Rahul with his methodical play and Test match technique could be expected to play controlled cricket but Shubman's inning came as a refreshing surprise for its sheer tenacity – a rare virtue in Indian cricket. After spending every ounce of his energy trying to figure out ways to get the English batsmen out for the team, Shubman now with a bat in hand had to fight an individual battle. In the last three innings – twice at Lord's and in the first innings here – he has gotten out trying to dead-bat or leave the balls coming into him. At Lord's he was caught behind while negotiating the ball in the corridor by Chris Woakes, and in the next inning he was hit on the knee roll by Brydon Carse and was out lbw. Here Stokes had bowled the same line and length, Shubman had shouldered arms to a ball that DRS showed was hitting his stumps. This has been an old Shubman problem and England has been repeatedly exploiting it. Woakes and Jofra Archer both would test the Indian captain with good length balls on the off-stump with a few surprise yorkers thrown in for variety. Shubman would be tentative initially – not sure to take the stride forward to meet the ball or leave it. This must have been the most harrowing time for the Indian dressing room. A ball a millimeter close or the bat a shade closer would result in an edge flying behind the stumps. That was how close India was from losing a series. KL 🤝 GILL A batting masterclass from @klrahul & @ShubmanGill bails #TeamIndia out of early trouble! 💪 The highest 3rd-wicket partnership of the series! 🙌🏻#ENGvIND 👉 4th TEST, DAY 4 | LIVE NOW on JioHotstar 👉 — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 26, 2025 From both the ends, England would attack Shubman with a barrage of nipbackers. Woakes with the talent of moving the ball in the air and Jofra Archer with the ability to make the ball come in sharply seemed close to wickets and were difficult to deal with. An early end to the game, an innings defeat to India on Day 4 was the most predicted outcome of this Test. In Jofra's second over, there were a couple of big appeals. First a Jofra late swinger would hit Gill on his boot, once again not sure about the stride forward. The skipper would survive as even technology was inconclusive. In the same over there was another appeal, once again Shubman was beaten on the front foot, since the ball was moving in too sharply they would avoid taking the DRS. It was in this crunch situation, while handling a personal and team crisis, that Shubman found a way to reset his batting technique, got hold of some spanner to tighten a few screws and grease some joints. Almost miraculously, he looked like a different batsman. There was the smooth transfer of weight and there was surety in his stride. This was a man refusing to give in, and a batsman who when troubled, not panicking but delving deep in the recesses of the mind to find a way to survive. He also was playing much straighter now. There were a couple of straight drives – one off Woakes and the other off Brydon Carse – that went racing to the sight screen from both sides of the stumps. On the second one, the graceful stroke-maker held his pose. This was a signal that he had dealt with that tough period of play. When on 48, luck too smiled on the brave captain. In a minor glitch in concentration, the India No.4 would try to over-reach for a Carse ball in the channel. He would edge to Liam Dawson at point, the ball would hit his hand but he couldn't catch it. 'Every batsman, at some stage of their life, changes the way they bat in Test cricket. Subman seems to be doing that brilliantly in England,' India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said. While Shubman was dealing with his demons, Rahul was a picture of composure. He was playing close to the body, meeting the ball late and moving away from the short balls. After the outside the off-stump bowling didn't give results, Stokes moved his troops on the other side of the field. For most of the final session, England bowled short balls on the body and placed four fielders square and behind the wicket. Rahul negated the ploy solidly. He wouldn't go for the pull but would bring the ball down. Now it was Stokes' turn to get frustrated. Before the Ashes, Rahul and Shubman gave a masterclass to the team that always plays for results, on the art and skill to play out a riveting draw.
Indian Express
44 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Divya Deshmukh vs Koneru Humpy: Nothing to separate Indians in FIDE Women's World Cup final opening act
In what was billed as the clash of generations between a 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh and a 38-year-old veteran Koneru Humpy in the all-Indian final of the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 could best be described by Andrea Jeremiah's single, 'Neither Yours Nor Mine.' The game that could have swung either way, but eventually ended in a 41-move draw, and Divya will rue her missed chances with white pieces more than a relieved Humpy, who dodged a bullet against her young rival in the first leg of their Classical match in the Georgian coastal city of Batumi on Saturday. Divya began with a central pawn push in the D-file (1… d4), an opening move she hadn't played the entire event, hoping to surprise Humpy. In response, Humpy advanced her D-file pawn to d5 and captured Divya's pawn after the teenager played c4 on her second move. When Divya replied to Humpy's second move (2… dxc4) with another central pawn push (3… c4), it became clear she wasn't playing for a tame draw. Her third move was White's most ambitious move yet, aiming to gain a lot of space in the centre while attacking black's pawn at c4 with her bishop with a tempo. Indian GM Abhijeet Kunte explained the reasoning behind players opting for this opening. 'The opening is Queen's Gambit Accepted, which is quite popular and played when Black wants to play safe. White has some interesting aggressive options. The most important thing in these kinds of openings is that the players are tired,' said Kunte during his commentary for ChessBase India. 'They've played continuously for almost 25 days, and normally by this point, they've exhausted all their fresh ideas. So, they have to rely on middle-game strategies with basic concepts to maintain tempo and momentum. Going into long theoretical variations at this stage of the tournament is always tough,' he added. Divya then developed both her knights, while Humpy pinned White's king with her dark-squared bishop (4… Bb4+) and brought out one of her knights. The teenager offered a pawn sacrifice to Humpy, but the veteran misplaced her light-squared bishop (7… Bb7?), handing Divya a slight edge on the board. Pravin Thipsay, the third Indian ever to earn the GM title, explained where Humpy went wrong in the opening. 'Divya seemed very well-prepared in the opening. She not only played the Queen's Gambit but also offered another pawn. On the seventh move, Humpy should have probably taken the pawn as per theory,' Thipsay told The Indian Express. 'Theoretical variations could have led to a roughly equal position if Black had taken the pawn on the seventh move. But Humpy decided against it and developed her bishop instead, leading to a complex position. It was clear both players were now out of their opening preparation, and Divya was slightly better,' he explained. Venturing into uncharted territory, both players began making positional errors. Humpy's decision to retreat her knight (10… Nd6) instead of developing her other knight gave Divya a near-winning advantage by the 10th move. However, Divya failed to capitalise on Humpy's mistake, and her attempt to sacrifice her White knight instantly equalised the position, nullifying all her hard-earned advantage. Just as the game seemed headed for a quiet draw, Humpy made a decisive mistake on the 13th move, shifting her king toward the kingside closer to her H-file rook. This once again tilted the position in Divya's favour. Yet, for the third time, Divya let the advantage slip, opting to exchange light-squared bishops along the B-file, a move that neutralised her edge. The correct idea was to activate White's queen, bringing the strongest piece into play. Thipsay believes Divya's decision to exchange bishops was a critical error, as playing queen to e2 could have forced a quick loss for Humpy. 'The most important moment came when Divya traded bishops and gave away all her advantage. Had she advanced her queen to e2, I believe a mating attack would have followed, likely leading to a quick defeat for Humpy,' he said. 'It looked like a great escape after a risky battle as this game once again proves that Divya is quite well prepared, while Humpy tried to make over-the-board solutions, which perhaps may not be the best idea. Today, however, it worked, as Divya failed to find the best move on two key occasions.' In a roughly equal position, which was still vulnerable to one-move blunders in a double rook and queen endgame, Humpy attempted to force a draw via threefold repetition. But Divya, to everyone's surprise, declined the draw offer with less than a minute on her clock, still looking to play for a win. However, it was Humpy's superior time management that prevailed in the end as she soon secured the draw through the same threefold repetition. With White pieces on Sunday, Humpy will now look to impose her presence in this clash. But Divya, in her current form, looks quite ready to rise to any challenge. Meanwhile, the third-place match between Chinese players Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi also ended in a draw.
India Today
44 minutes ago
- India Today
Rishabh Pant will bat for India on Day 5 in Manchester, confirms batting coach
India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has revealed that wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant will be available to bat on Day 5 of the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford in Manchester. Pant suffered a toe fracture on Day 1 of the game and had to be immediately taken off the braved through the pain on Day 2 and returned to bat to complete his half-century. He scored a brilliant 54 (75), smashing three fours and two sixes. With India once again needing Pant's services on Day 5, the star batter will be once again available to bat, Sitanshu Kotak think he will bat tomorrow,' said Kotak in the press conference at the end of the day's play. Furthermore, the Indian batting coach said that the players will have to play every ball on the merit on the final day and avoid unnecessary risks.'Don't be pre-planned. Play to the merit of the ball. Avoid unnecessary riks. If you are set and then you cut down on undue risks, the only way you can get out is if the ball behaves badly after pitching or if you get a brilliant delivery. These boys have the quality. They have the ability to do what they did today on Day 5. All these are all format players. Everybody is playing the IPL and international cricket. Your mindset is important. Your need to train your mind to play the situation. It takes mental effort more than skill,' he Test Day 4 UpdatesIndia finished Day 4 on 174/2 with KL Rahul and Shubman Gill at the crease. The duo got involved in an unbeaten 174-run stand for the third wicket after the team lost Sai Sudharsan and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the first over of the innings are still trailing by 137 runs in the second innings and will have to bat out of their skins to save the Test match on Day 5. Hence, Pant's services will be required for the team as they aim to bat out the entire day to deny England a victory and keep the series alive.- EndsMust Watch
