England vs India live: score, updates from fourth Test day 2

Rishabh Pant ruled out of series after breaking foot on first day, forcing him to retire on 37

It looks as though Rishabh Pant may well appear in this Test, if this tweet is anything to go by…

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Pant is in a moon boot and can hardly walk, but is in the changing room in his whites, so who knows. We’ve seen Nathan Lyon come out and bat while nursing an injury at Lord’s in 2023.

Ben Stokes thinks he’s got Shardul Thakur. The ball rears right up off a length and it’s caught by Jamie Smith — Stokes appeals for a caught behind, he thinks there was a noise or a glove. Given not out on the field but they’ve gone upstairs to have a look.

UltraEdge shows no edge or glove — it wasn’t a very convincing appeal by the slip cordon or the wicket keeper. Rod Tucker gets another decision right. He’s made a couple of very good ones this Test.

Ben Stokes into the attack

The England captain has the ball in hand from the Brian Statham end, replacing Woakes.

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In good nick

This is a very good spell from Archer, and Stokes clearly feels an edge is coming — he has a five-strong slip cordon all standing pretty close together.

When Archer gets a slightly fuller length, there is swing away from the left-hander, but for the moment Washington Sundar is solid in his defence — soft hands and seems to know where his off stump is.

Big celebrations

Jofra Archer went straight to Harry Brook after the latter dismissed Jadeja with a wonderful catch.

STUART LEGGETT/ALAMY

No queuing issues today...

Yesterday’s issues of long queues were not repeated today. Lancashire asked people to get to the ground early and have sent out a slightly cringey social media post today thanking people for doing so.

Why people should have to go so early just because they can’t sort out their entry processes is beyond me…

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WICKET!

What a start from Jofra Archer! A brilliant fifth ball of the over finds Jadeja’s edge and Brook takes a fantastic catch down to his right. Just the start England wanted. Washington Sundar comes to the crease. With Pant out, that is India effectively 266 for six.

England are on the attack here, four slips and a gully.

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Chances

There’s plenty of movement out there with the new ball, and Archer finds an edge off Thakur but again it hasn’t carried.

Jofra Archer opens

After Chris Woakes found a bit of movement in his opening over, Jofra Archer will open from the Sir James Anderson end. He finds an edge off Jadeja straight away, which flies to gully but doesn’t quite carry to Duckett.

Here we go

We’re about to get going under scowling skies in Manchester. Remember England will have a new ball this morning as they look to take quick wickets. Chris Woakes is warming up as Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur arrive at the crease.

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Will Pant’s injury define the series?

Our colleagues at talkSPORT discuss the impact the injury could have on India’s chances for the remainder of the series.

Weather forecast

We look to be set fair for the remainder of the match at Old Trafford. There might be a little bit of rain here and there today, unsurprisingly for Manchester in July, but hopefully not enough to disrupt play. The sun should show itself later on in the match.

Ben Stokes knew how to expose Sai Sudharsan — but Jamie Smith let him off

Steve James

The 23-year-old’s lovely languid strokes are a joy to behold, and come from his preference to keep the bat grounded. There is however a key flaw in his technique, as his head drifts over to the off side. Ben Stokes knew how to expose it by bowling down the leg side and finding a nick, but his keeper’s fumble left him frustrated.

Read the full piece on the batsman’s escape here.

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Tired pitches, dry weather and deformed Dukes — a tough year for bowlers

Simon Wilde, Old Trafford

Things may not be quite as bad as they were in the long hot summer of 1990, when batsmen ran amok from April to September while footsore bowlers laboured with the Reader balls whose seams had been flattened by special decree from Lord’s, but 2025 is proving another big year of run-making.

We are into the sixth Test match of the season — including the world Test Championship final — and have already seen 18 individual centuries, including a mammoth score of 269 from Shubman Gill, and four other innings in excess of 150. Overall, wickets have cost almost 36 runs apiece, the highest figure in an English summer since 2011.

Read the full piece on bowlers’ burdens here.

What are the chances?

India lost the toss yesterday for the 14th consecutive time in Tests, a one in 16,384 chance. Sky Sports’s stats guru Benedict Bermange has gone one further this morning, working out the chances of five players having the same birthday, December 6, which was a distinct possibility if not for India’s selection choices…

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Fixtures confirmed

England’s men’s and women’s fixtures for next year have been confirmed.

Ben Stokes’s Test side will welcome New Zealand and Pakistan in two three-match series, while the white-ball side led by Harry Brook face India and Sri Lanka in ODI and T20 contests. Brook will also lead England in the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka

Meanwhile, Nat Sciver-Brunt’s team will play New Zealand, India and Ireland, and will play a Test against India at Lord’s starting on July 10. Throw in the Women’s T20 World Cup to be held at home and it’s a bumper year for women’s cricket.

Rishabh Pant injury and late Ben Stokes strike pull England back into contest

Mike Atherton, Old Trafford

Rishabh Pant is a cricketer who, on any given day, gets tongues wagging. In this series he has scored twin hundreds; has cartwheeled in celebration; has thrown his bat skywards when attempting a slog over the leg side; was run out at a critical juncture of the Lord’s Test and here in Manchester his role was of the walk-on, carried-off variety only, but still of central importance given what happened.

Having made 37, Pant was in the process of gaining control for India during the final session in partnership with the willowy left-hander Sai Sudharsan. The usual wacky combination of dutiful defence and outrageous stroke play — with not much in between — had been fully in evidence when, attempting a reverse-sweep to Chris Woakes in the 68th over, he took a full toss on the outstep of his right foot and was forced to retire hurt.

Read the full day one report here.

Good morning

A very good morning from Old Trafford where there is some blue sky and it’s nice and warm. While that is the biggest news of the day, there is also some news about the on-pitch matters — Rishabh Pant has a broken foot so is almost certainly out of the rest of the match and probably series. Dhruv Jarel will keep wicket for India— as he did for most of the Lord’s Test.

Pant bottom-edged a full Woakes delivery onto his right foot GARETH COPLEY/GETTY IMAGES

Big blow for India and means England effectively have the visitors five down in this innings, and they’ll take the new ball straight away this morning.

Join me throughout the day for updates from on and off the field.

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