Gill and Rahul steady India after early wobble

MANCHESTER: A half century from captain Shubman Gill helped India battle back on day four of the fourth test against England, the touring side reaching 86-2 at tea on Saturday, trailing the hosts by 225 runs.
Chris Woakes took two wickets in two balls in the first over to leave India reeling on 0-2 before lunch, after captain Ben Stokes' first century in two years fired England to 669, their fifth highest total in test history.
With 15 minutes to navigate before lunch, India crumbled under the pressure, with Yashasvi Jaiswal caught in the slips by England first-innings centurion Joe Root and Sai Sudharsan following him back next ball.
Gill and Rahul survived to return for the afternoon session and steadied the ship, despite England continuing to create chances.
Stokes, who took five wickets in the first innings, did not bowl having retired hurt with cramp on Friday when batting.
Gill looked in especially good touch in difficult circumstances, moving to his eighth test fifty just before tea.
At the time of going to print, Gill was 77 and Rahul 86 not out with total at 172.
England lead 2-1 in the series and victory at Old Trafford would seal it.
Earlier, England captain Ben Stokes ended his more than two-year wait for a Test hundred .
Stokes' dominant 141 powered England to 669 all out — their fifth-highest total of all time — on the fourth day of the fourth Test.
The hosts' leading bowler this series, Stokes is just the fourth England player to take five wickets and score a hundred in the same Test after Tony Greig, Ian Botham — who did it five times — and the currently sidelined Gus Atkinson.
England resumed in command at 544-7 after Root had become the second-highest run-scorer in Test history during his majestic 150 on Friday.
Stokes, 77 not out overnight after briefly leaving the field with cramp Friday after his first fifty of the series, delighted the crowd Saturday with some thrilling strokeplay.
The left-handed batsman twice cover-drove Mohammed Siraj for superb fours as he went to 88.
Stokes charged down the pitch to drive Jasprit Bumrah, the world's top-ranked Test bowler, for three to go to 99.
Bumrah beat Stokes on the outside edge before a leg-glanced four off paceman Bumrah -- his ninth boundary in 164 balls faced — saw the England skipper to a century.
It was all-rounder Stokes' first Test hundred in more than two years following a whirlwind 155 against Australia at Lord's in June 2023.
The 34-year-old celebrated his 14th century in 115 Tests by clenching his fist, looking to the sky and making a crooked finger gesture in honour of his late father Ged Stokes before raising his bat to a cheering crowd.
With the shackles off, Stokes then straight drove Washington Sundar for six and next ball he reverse swept the off-spinner for four.
Stokes then launched Ravindra Jadeja for six but, trying to repeat the stroke, next ball he holed out off the left-arm spinner with England exactly 300 runs ahead at 658-9.
Carse added a useful 47 before he was last man out, also caught in the deep off Jadeja. The all-rounder was one of several India bowlers to concede more than 100 runs, albeit Jadeja's return of 4-143 in 37.1 overs was relatively economical. — AFP