England 161 & 173/4 (Jos Buttler 67*; Stokes 42*, Ishant Sharma 2-43) require another 348 runs with 6 wickets remaining
India 329 & & 352/7 dec. (Virat Kohli 103, Cheteshwar Pujara 72)
India picked four wickets in the first session on Day 4 but went wicket less in the 2nd as Buttler and Stokes denied India an early victory with a remarkable unbeaten 111-run partnership.
Earlier Ishant Sharma starred with the new ball as he removed both the openers with similar deliveries. The most important wicket, though, was again Joe Root, who fell in the last over of Jasprit Bumrah's marathon nine-over spell. Root was out punching off the back foot and edged it behind to KL Rahul at second slip, the fielder taking his fifth catch of the match. England went into Lunch four wickets down for 84 runs, still needing by 437 runs to win.
Buttler and Stokes got together in the next session and kept the bowlers at bay by focusing on their defence. With the sun out, conditions were marginally better for batting the duo dug in.
England have a long way to go in this Test and a lot will depend on this pair.
Comments