Chris Woakes put India under pressure with two quick wickets on Day 4

England put up a solid lead after batting for almost two days in the ongoing fourth Test against India in Manchester. The hosts generated a hefty lead of 311 runs and India entered to bat in the second innings with a daunting task of overcoming the mammoth lead. But Chris Woakes had other plans as he decimitated the Indian top order in a jiffy.

The star England pacer sent the India opener, Yashasvi Jaiswal packing for a duck and later plucked out Sai Sudharsan and the youngster to register a duck. Both the left handed batters were dismissed in a similar fashion. While Jaiswal tried to flick the ball and was caught in the first slip by Joe Root, Sudharsan could not judge the back of a length ball and handed his wicket to the second slip.

Ben Stokes and Joe Root lay foundation for a solid lead

With these two dismissals in two balls, Woakes was on a hat-trick and India captain Shubman Gill did well to avoid the veteran pacer a rare feat. At the end of 13 overs, India were 40/2 with Gill and KL Rahul at the crease and negotiating a win from the jaws of defeat. It would be interesting to see how the batters carry their innings and lay a solid foundation in what has become a thrilling affair at the Old Trafford.

Before India’s innings, England’s solid comeback happened due to impressive centuries from former England skipper Joe Root and current skipper Ben Stokes. Both the batters scored 150 and 141 respectively to bring England back in the game. India have an uphill task to overcome the deficit and generate a lead where the bowlers can defend the target.