England controlled the second day of their ongoing fourth Test against India at Old Trafford in Manchester. Wednesday, July 23, was the start of the game. As of right now, England leads the series 1-2.
India was at 264/4 when they resumed their first innings. The visitors were eventually bowled out for 358 after losing wickets at regular intervals. Interestingly, Rishabh Pant batted in spite of a broken toe and reached his fifty, which is a big plus.
Ben Stokes, the captain of England, took five wickets and led from the front. In response, the hosts finished the day at 225/2, in a strong position. To set the stage, openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley each hit half-centuries. With eight wickets remaining, Ollie Pope (20) and Joe Root (11) are 133 runs behind and remain undefeated at the crease.
India’s bowling appeared ordinary as they struggled to put pressure on the opposing batters. On his debut, Anshul Kamboj took out Duckett, his first Test wicket. Nevertheless, on the second day of the fourth game at Manchester, the following four records and milestones were achieved.
Stumps on Day 2 in Manchester!
Debutant Anshul Kamboj & Ravindra Jadeja pick a wicket each in the final session ⚡️
England reach 225/2, trail by 133 runs.
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/L1EVgGu4SI#TeamIndia | #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/YGTUz2uzwK
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 24, 20251. Most 50-plus scores by an Indian wicketkeeper in a Test series
Rishabh Pant reached his fifty and was removed for 54 off 75 balls, which included three boundaries and two sixes. In addition to two hundred, this marks his third half-century in the series. Pant currently has five scores in this series that are 50 or above.
He now has the most 50-plus scores of any Indian wicketkeeper in a Test series. Pant was tied with Farokh Engineer and MS Dhoni. In 2008–09 and 2014, Dhoni scored four or more runs against Australia and England, respectively. In 1972–73, Farokh Engineer also scored four or more runs against England.
2. Most Test runs in a series by a wicketkeeper in England
This series, Rishabh Pant is playing at his best. He has been an important batsman at number five. After seven innings, the left-hander has amassed 479 runs at an average of 68.42.
Pant now has the record for most Test runs by an English wicketkeeper in a series, surpassing previous England wicketkeeper Alec Stewart. In 1998, Stewart amassed 464 runs in a match against South Africa. The list also includes Jonny Bairstow, who scored 387 runs against Sri Lanka in 2016, and Jamie Smith, who has 415 runs in the current series.
3. Second-highest opening partnership for England against India at Manchester
Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett gave England a great start in their innings on the second day of the match. Crawley made 84 runs and Duckett scored 94 runs. Together, they added 166 runs for the first wicket.
This opening stand is the second-highest for England against India at Manchester in Test cricket. The best at this ground is still the 225-run partnership by Graham Gooch and Michael Atherton in 1990 against India.
4. Most runs for India in WTC
Rishabh Pant is now India’s leading run scorer in the World Test Championship (WTC). Former captain Rohit Sharma, who had amassed 2716 runs from 40 games, was overtaken by the left-hander.
In 38 games and 67 innings, Pant has scored 2731 runs. With six tons and sixteen fifties, his average is 43.34. Additionally, he has left behind Virat Kohli, who scored 2617 runs in 46 games. With 2512 runs, Shubman Gill is the closest Indian cricketer to Pant among those currently playing in the format.
