England’s opening duo, Zak Crawley and Ben duckett set a commanding tone on day two (Thursday) of the ongoing fourth Test match against India at Old Trafford, putting the hosts in a strong position. In reply to India’s first innings total of 358, England closed out day two at 225/2, trailing by just 133 runs. Heading into day three (Friday), they would eye a mammoth first-innings lead.
Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett scoring 84 and 94 runs, respectively, and stitching a 166-run partnership led England's recovery on day two. England are now just 133 runs behind with eight wickets in hand; the morning session on day three will be crucial as they look to pile up more runs. England’s Ollie Pope and Joe Root will resume the side’s innings, and if they can extend their partnership, England will be in a position to build a significant lead.
For India, the most important thing will be to strike early and stop England from building a massive lead. On day two, debutant Anshul Kamboj and Ravindra Jadeja were among the wickets, nabbing Duckett and Crawley, respectively. Earlier, India posted 358 after being asked to bat, with Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, and Sai Sudharsan scoring 58, 46, and 61, respectively. And the most notable moment in India’s innings was Rishabh Pant’s innings, who defied injury to score a gutsy half-century.