Stokes stars with ball, Duckett and Crawley shine as England dominate day two

Ben Stokes’ first five-for in eight years and a dominant 166-run stand between Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley helped England take control against India on day two of the fourth Test

Manchester: Half-centuries from Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley put England in a commanding position after skipper Ben Stokes claimed his first five-wicket haul in eight years on day two of the fourth Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test at Old Trafford on Thursday.

At stumps, England reached 225/2 in 46 overs, trailing India by 133 runs. Stokes’ 5-72 helped bowl India out for 358, with Rishabh Pant returning to bat despite a fractured right foot to score a courageous 54 — a knock that will be remembered for ages. Pant had retired hurt on 37, but returned to add 17 more runs and pushed India past the 350 mark.

---

Duckett (94) and Crawley (84) then stitched a superb opening partnership of 166 off 195 balls to rattle India, though both fell short of centuries. Joe Root (11*) and Ollie Pope (20*) remained unbeaten, keeping England well placed for a big first-innings score.

In the morning, Jofra Archer consistently beat Ravindra Jadeja’s outside edge before having him caught at slip for 20. Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar then stitched a resilient 48-run stand for the sixth wicket.

Thakur scored 41 off 88 balls, striking three boundaries before falling to a delivery from Stokes, edging to Duckett at gully. His dismissal brought an injured Pant back to the crease amidst rapturous applause. The visuals of Pant using railings for support and being patted by Thakur captured the spirit of the moment.

Though Pant hobbled between the wickets, he played with grit until rain brought an early lunch.

After the break, Sundar edged Stokes for four but soon fell for 27, hooking Chris Woakes to deep fine leg. Stokes completed his five-for when his outswinger found the edge of debutant Anshul Kamboj’s bat, caught by Jamie Smith.

Pant powered a pull for six off Archer and reached his 18th Test fifty in 69 balls by driving a wide ball from Stokes through cover. But Archer bowled him with a cartwheeling off-stump delivery to end the heroic 75-ball 54.

Siraj and Bumrah hit a boundary each before Bumrah edged to Smith off Archer. A review confirmed the nick, ending India’s innings at 358. Archer finished with 3-75.

In reply, England’s openers attacked early. Duckett hit four boundaries off debutant Kamboj and glanced Bumrah for three more. Crawley capitalised on Siraj’s loose deliveries, hitting multiple boundaries.

The pair reached their fifties in 46 and 73 balls respectively. Crawley was eventually dismissed for 84, edging Jadeja to KL Rahul at slip. Duckett fell on 94, chasing a wide ball from Kamboj and nicking behind to Dhruv Jurel — handing the debutant his first Test wicket.

Root and Pope batted cautiously, with Root surviving an LBW review. They ensured no further wickets fell before close of play.

Brief scores: India 358 in 114.1 overs (B Sai Sudharsan 61, Yashasvi Jaiswal 58; Ben Stokes 5-72, Jofra Archer 3-75)
England 225/2 in 46 overs (Ben Duckett 94, Zak Crawley 84; Ravindra Jadeja 1-37, Anshul Kamboj 1-48)
India lead by 133 runs