England openers hit back after Rishabh Pant's defiant fifty in Manchester Test

The National

24-07-2025

England openers decimated India's bowling attack to hand the home team a clear edge in the fourth Test in Manchester on Thursday.
Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett got England off to a flying start but both fell short of deserved centuries. Their efforts did not go to waste, though, as the hosts raced to 225-2 in just 46 overs in reply to India's 358, trailing by just 133 runs.
Captain Ben Stokes had earlier picked up five wickets to restrict India to well below 400 even as injured wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant made a fighting fifty.
Crawley (84) and Duckett (94) shared an opening stand of 166 - the pair's fifth century partnership in 53 Test innings together.
Crawley played some trademark stylish drives as India 's seam bowlers failed to get anywhere as much purchase as their English counterparts managed in the first innings.
Crawley, however, fell short of what would have been his sixth century in 58 Tests when he edged spinner Ravindra Jadeja to slip where KL Rahul held a fine low catch.
It ended a fine 113-ball innings that featured 13 fours and a six.
Duckett, meanwhile, went on the attack from the start and played hardly any false strokes. He relayed his intentions by smashing three fours off debutant Anshul Kamboj's first over in Test cricket.
Kamboj, who was called in for injured all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, was largely ineffective like most of the Indian attack.
Duckett also flicked Jasprit Bumrah, the world's top-ranked Test bowler, off his pads for two fours in three balls as the hosts motored along at five runs an over.
The left-hander was eyeing his second hundred of the series, following a brilliant 149 in England's five-wicket win in the first Test at Headingley, when he edged a cut off Kamboj to reserve wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, deputising for the injured Pant.
Duckett trudged off with England 197-2. Ollie Pope and Joe Root then took England to safety.
Earlier, Pant returned to action despite a fracture in his foot.
The vice-captain had to retire hurt on 37 during Wednesday's opening day when he took a painful blow on the foot attempting an audacious reverse-sweep off a Chris Woakes yorker.
After Shardul Thakur fell to Stokes for 41, leaving India 314-6, Pant slowly made his way down the dressing room steps and out into the middle.
The left-hander's movements were restricted but runners are no longer allowed in international cricket.
With enough help in the pitch to keep England interested, Stokes gleefully cleaned up the tail at the other end.
When Kamboj was caught behind off the England skipper for a duck, Stokes had his first five-wicket haul in a Test since a career-best 6-22 against the West Indies at Lord's in 2017.
The all-rounder finished with 5-72 in 24 overs.
Pant reached his half-century in 69 balls, including a pulled six off Jofra Archer despite his lack of mobility, before he was bowled by the paceman for 54.
England lead the series 2-1 and are favourites to clinch the series at Old Trafford.