Stokes, Duckett, and Crawley Shine on Day 2 of Fourth Test

England dominated Day 2 of the fourth Test in Manchester, thanks to Ben Stokes' five-wicket haul and a rapid 166-run opening stand between Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett. India added 94 runs to their overnight total before folding for 358, while England replied with 225/2, with both openers falling late in the day.

England's Strong Reply

Jasprit Bumrah kept Crawley on his toes at the start of England's innings, but debutant Anshul Kamboj had an expensive start, conceding three fours as he tried to target Duckett's pads. The left-hander put away Bumrah deliveries on the pads for boundaries while Crawley glanced one from Mohammed Siraj for his first four.

Crawley and Duckett brought down the deficit to 281 at Tea, with both unbeaten. In the final session, Thakur found some movement, and Crawley played a couple of good shots, scoring fours off Bumrah and Thakur. Duckett got to a 46-ball fifty before punching a Thakur delivery through cover for another four, taking England past 100.

Partnership and Wickets

The partnership finally came to an end as Jadeja got one to turn away from Crawley and found the edge, with KL Rahul taking a sharp low catch at first slip. Duckett continued in his merry ways, targetting Siraj for a string of boundaries as he entered the 90s. However, he fell six short of the three-figure mark, edging to the 'keeper while attempting a cut, giving Kamboj his maiden Test wicket.

Earlier in the Day

Armed with the second new ball, Jofra Archer dismissed Jadeja, but India managed to stretch their total past 300 thanks to a 48-run stand between Thakur and Washington. The highlight of the session was the return of Rishabh Pant, who had retired hurt on 37 on Day 1 due to a foot fracture. Pant struggled to run but stuck around with Washington, as India reached 321/6 at Lunch.

Brief Scores

India 358 (Sai Sudharsan 61, Yashasvi Jaiswal 58, Rishabh Pant 54; Ben Stokes 5-72, Jofra Archer 3-73) lead England 225/2 (Ben Duckett 94, Zak Crawley 84; Ravindra Jadeja 1-37, Anshul Kamboj 1-48) by 133 runs.