ENG vs IND 2025, 4th Test Day 2 Highlights: Crawley and Duckett stitch 166-run opening stand as England reply strongly to India’s 358. England 225-2 at stumps.
Brief Scores: England 225/2 (Ben Duckett 94, Zak Crawley 84, Ravindra Jadeja 1/37) trail India 358 (Sai Sudharsan 61, Yashasvi Jaiswal 58, Ben Stokes 5/72) by 133 runs.
The second day of the fourth Test between England and India at Old Trafford in Manchester started with the bad news on Rishabh Pant’s injury. Several news outlets claimed that the wicket-keeper was ruled out for six weeks with a fractured toe. Since then, it was obvious that the visitors would have a tough time in the remainder of the series.
With 264/4 on the opening day, the Shubman Gill-led side aimed to cross the 450-run mark. However, Ben Stokes’ army gained extra energy with Pant’s injury. It was important for all the visiting batters to contribute runs to keep them in a solid position.
It was cool and overcast as the surface looked dry with a few patches. The bowlers could use them for uneven bounce. There was a strip of green which the fast bowlers could use to get extra bounce.
Read More: ENG vs IND, 4th Test, Day 1: India’s top order blunts England attack; visitors 264-4 at stumps
Let’s take a look at how the three sessions progressed on Day 2 of the fourth Test of Eng vs Ind 2025 series at Old Trafford:
India lose two wickets to reach 321/6 at lunch
It was not a positive start for the Blue Brigade as they lost Ravindra Jadeja in the second over of the day. Jofra Archer squared up the batter, who got an outside edge into the slip region. Since then, both Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur looked to be aggressive against the home bowlers. They were so busy running between the wickets.
Thakur, going for a booming drive, was caught at the gully position. Then came the special moment when Rishabh Pant hobbled out of the dressing room with the fractured toe. The southpaw looked smooth while running. There was discomfort, but the veteran displayed incredible courage to step into the field. Due to the drizzle, the umpires called for an early lunch as India finished with 321/6 in the first session.
Rishabh Pant’s 54 shoulders India to 358
Sundar’s same old struggle continued. He was late on the pull shot against Stokes as he found Chris Woakes in the fine leg. Anshul Kamboj, on debut, failed to open his account for a three-ball duck. But Pant celebrated a fine half-century with a dashing six. He ended with 54 runs in 75 balls with three fours and two sixes to carry them to 358 in the first inning.
Here comes Rishabh Pant…
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 24, 2025
A classy reception from the Emirates Old Trafford crowd 👏 pic.twitter.com/vBwSuKdFcW
Read More: India at Old Trafford in Tests: Statistical Highlights
England openers punish India’s wayward bowling for 77/0
India were off their line and length in the one-hour session before tea. Ben Duckett got five boundaries on the on-side in a hurry, while Zak Crawley also started to get back in rhythm. The Kent batter drove a few balls on the up and looked the most confident in this series. They went to the break with 77/0 in just 14 overs and trailed by 281 runs.
India remove both openers as England finish with 225/2
Runs kept on coming from the ends in the first hour of the third session. Off-side, on-side, pull, drive, hook, sweep, reverse-sweep- everything was there in the menu for the Indian team. Finally, it was Jadeja who found the outside edge of a lazy defense from Crawley (84) as KL Rahul grabbed a fine catch at slips.
A few overs later, Kamboj bagged his maiden Test wicket as Duckett (94) nicked it through to the keeper. He was surprised by the extra bounce and failed to connect the cut shot. Joe Root and Ollie Pope negotiated the tough last 20-minutes to push them to 225/2.
Read More: India have slipped to no. 4 in ICC Test Rankings: Is there a way to arrest the slide?
What to expect on Day 3
England will expect to erase the deficit as early as possible. Any lead of over 150 or 200 runs will nearly push them to the series victory. For India, it will be about finding the right line and length and avoiding conceding a lead of over 50-100 runs.
Statistical Highlights from Old Trafford ENG vs IND 2025 Test, Day 2:
- Shardul Thakur has scored the third-highest Test individual score (41) for number seven India batter at Old Trafford. Sandeep Patil tops the list with 129* in 1982.
- Stokes becomes the sixth leading Test wicket-taker for England against India with 56 wickets in 35 innings. James Anderson leads the table with 149 scalps.
- Stokes registered his first Test fifer in 8 years. This was also his second fifer against India.
- Pant registered his 26th fifty-plus score in Tests.
- Pant equals Virender Sehwag with the most sixes (90) for India in Tests.
- Pant (1035 runs) is the only visiting wicketkeeper-batter with 1000+ runs in England.
- Pant overtakes MS Dhoni (13) with the most fifty-plus scores (14) as a visiting designated-wicketkeeper batter in SENA Tests.
- Pant now has the most runs (479) for a designated wicketkeeper-batter in a bilateral Test series in England. Alec Stewart held the record earlier with 465 runs against South Africa in 1998.
- Ben Stokes joins Ian Botham, Gary Sobers, and Jacques Kallis to have the combination of 10+ centuries and 5+ five-wicket hauls in men’s Tests.
- Crawley and Duckett’s 166-run stand is the third-highest Test opening partnership for England at Old Trafford.
Top Twitter Reactions from ENG vs IND, Old Trafford Test, Day 2
England well on the way to 500 plus … #ENGvIND
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) July 24, 2025
I have been fortunate to have seen some great moments in cricket. But to see #RishabhPant walking out to bat with a broken toe and seeing the warmth with which everyone reacted was as emotional as anything I have seen
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 24, 2025
Has been the bowler of the series so far for England.
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) July 24, 2025
How much have England missed his bowling over the last couple of years due to injury.
Has been in solid rhythm all through the series. Well done Ben stokes🔥🔥 #INDvsENG
Very brave effort from the ultimate team man. Well played @RishabhPant17 🙌🏻 India have got a good score considering the conditions. #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/dY7LoUzzVI
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) July 24, 2025
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