{"id":9432,"date":"2025-06-23T11:54:52","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T11:54:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=9432"},"modified":"2025-06-23T11:54:52","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T11:54:52","slug":"england-v-india-first-mens-cricket-test-day-four-live-england-v-india-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=9432","title":{"rendered":"England v India: first men\u2019s cricket Test, day four \u2013 live | England v India 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<br \/><span class=\"dcr-90inr0\"><span id=\"key-events-carousel-mobile\"\/><span class=\"dcr-90inr0\"><\/p>\n<p>Key events<\/p>\n<p><\/span><span id=\"filter-toggle-mobile\"\/>Show key events only<\/p>\n<p><span>Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>46th over: India 148-3 (Rahul 71, Pant 27) <\/strong>And, with 10 minutes to go until lunch, Stokes tosses Bashir the ball, as rain starts to fall; he begins well, with one that straightens past Pant\u2019s bat, and you wonder for how long he\u2019ll be allowed to bowl before patience is lost and hands are thrown.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">\u201cNow I want to know which of Darrien\u2019s Strokes CDs Tom kept hold of,\u201d returns Richard O\u2019Hagan.\u201d If it was \u2018Is This It?\u2019, \u2018Room on Fire\u2019 or even at a pinch \u2018First Impressions of Earth\u2019 then that\u2019s understandable. If it is any of the later rubbish then Darrien probably left it behind on purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">I\u2019m afraid acceptable pop music died i March 2000, when I became 21. It\u2019s quite a coincidence, I think you\u2019ll agree.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>45th over: India 146-3 (Rahul 70, Pant 27) <\/strong>You know what? Not only is this a terrific Test, but we\u2019ve got four to come after it! Stokes swings in to Rahul and this is the ball he\u2019s been waiting for: he drives to the cover boundary, raising the 50 partnership in the process. Extra bounce then has him fending off towards slip, and a pair of singles follow; England need to try something.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">\u201cThe pseudonym?\u201d returns Darrien Bold. \u201cRather prosaically, in my youth I was very good at Scrabble. Also, everyone loves replacing a C with a K \u2013 see Kris Kross and U Krazy Katz by PJ &amp; Duncan \u2013 and a K (5) is worth more than a C (3) in Scrabble too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">I guess by that rationale, I\u2019d have been DJ Ba\u2019al Koreh, if I\u2019m being generous, and DJ Attention Seek if not.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>44th over: India 140-3 (Rahul 65, Pant 25) <\/strong>Between overs, we see footage of Jofra Archer bowling in the County Championship, and how great it\u2019d be to see him back in the Test team. I imagine he\u2019ll need more cricket in him first \u2013 this is his first first-class game for four years \u2013 but all being well, we\u2019ll see him this summer. A single to each batter opens this latest Tongue over, and three dots follow, then Pant fences at one \u2026 but again, the luck is with him and he misses. India\u2019s lead is 146.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">Talking of first class does anyone remember the quiz of the same name, hosted by Debbie Greenwood and featuring \u2026 hyper sports?! A disgrace that it was cruelly and callously pulled from our screens.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>43rd over: India 138-3 (Rahul 64, Pant 25) <\/strong>Pant cross-bats wide of slip and they run a single, then a no ball adds another, before Stokes finds a little more lift, a surprised Rahul hitting into the ground. There\u2019s not the same sense of danger as there was when Carse and Woakes were in tandem earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>42nd over: India 136-3 (Rahul 64, Pant 24) <\/strong>Rahul pulls to deep fine and they run two, then misses with an airy cut; Tongue\u2019s bowling nicely, and I wonder if Stokes will try and get Carse back on so it\u2019s those two in tandem. In the meantime, though, he\u2019s hitting a really nice line, cramping the batter outside off, and the final delivery of the over tails in, but Rahul plays inside it \u2013 it\u2019s like he\u2019s got air tags on his off stump, so precisely can he judge its whereabouts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">\u201cIn response to the missive from the great Tom Madders in over 39,\u201d responds Darrien Bold \u2013 that Darrien Bold, not one of the numerous others \u2013 \u201cI can reveal that it is indeed I, DJ SKRABBLE, and it is such a delight to hear from Tom I am going to stick on Come On You Reds in celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">Can we understand the genesis of the pseudonym, please?<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>41st over: India 134-3 (Rahul 62, Pant 24) <\/strong>Rahul twizzles a single to fine leg, then Pant guides an edge for a four that was a much more handsome shot than it looked. He\u2019s into this now, his tempo adjusting to the situation; India lead by 140.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>40th over: India 129-3 (Rahul 61, Pant 20) <\/strong>A single to Pant, who now looks more comfy at the crease, then Tongue goes over to Rahul, who defends twice then glances around the corner for one. England need a wicket.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">I should say, by the way, that Come On You Reds features my favourite key-change of all time; behold!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>39th over: India 127-3 (Rahul 60, Pant 19) <\/strong>Rahul takes a single wide of mid on, then Pant runs one down, a much better effort than pretty much every other scoring shot he\u2019s played today. Then, bowling the final ball of the over, Stokes hits a crack, the ball lifting and spitting away. India lead by 133.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">\u201cPlease can you find out if the Darrien Bold who wrote to you in over 26 to critique the deepness of your REM cut is the same Darrien Bold who used to go by the name DJ SKRABBLE?\u201d requests Tom Madders. \u201cThis legend was known for dropping bangers like Status Quo\u2019s \u2018Come On You Reds\u2019 and the theme tune to Grandstand in the middle of my indie club night to annoy hipsters and amuse himself. Anyway, I think I\u2019ve still got his Strokes CD if he wants it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">Let\u2019s put our heads together\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>38th over: India 125-3 (Rahul 59, Pant 18) <\/strong>Gosh, Sky are advertising a lunchtime interview with Anderson and Tendulkar, <em>in that order<\/em>; thoughts and prayers with the great Sunny. Tongue then replaces Woakes and naturally, Pant charges the new man without having a look at him first, hammering fresh air over the fence; again, the ball misses the stumps, the sense is growing that the luck is with him today. More generally, it was extremely gratifying to see Tongue clean up the India tail in the first dig \u2013 over the years, this has been a problem for various England teams, so a bowler able to target the stumps at pace is extremely useful. Anyroad, Pant then gets down the other end, before Rahul opens the face nicely to guide four wide of slip \u2013 that was Ronald-like, and there\u2019s no higher compliment. But have a look! Just as we\u2019re praising the batter\u2019s discipline, he waves a bat at a wide one, looking to lift over slip, doesn\u2019t apply requisite power, almost checking the shot \u2026 and Brook, looking to grab in front of his face, can only tip it over the bar. That wasn\u2019t easy, but it wasn\u2019t impossible either, and he\u2019s there specifically to snaffle those.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>37th over: India 118-3 (Rahul 54, Pant 17) <\/strong>Stokes begins with a leg bye for one, then one that moves in and away is expertly left \u2013 Rahul is at one with this pitch, reading it beautifully. A no ball follows, then deliveries outside off are ignored \u2013 this is a very patient knock, the batter determined not to give it away. That\u2019s drinks and, though England made a great start, India will feel the\u2019ve had the better of the first hour.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>36th over: India 116-3 (Rahul 54, Pant 17) <\/strong>Pant\u2019s been talking to himself a fair bit \u2013 I\u2019m not sure he\u2019s decided how to play this innings, caught between his natural game and stopping in. Thing is, if he just takes care not to give it away, he\u2019ll score runs anyway because that\u2019s what he does, and if a jaffa gets him, so be it \u2013 he\u2019s no need to force anything. A single to each batter adds two to the total, and Stokes will now replace Carse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">Otherwise, here\u2019s the best Glastonbury set I\u2019ve seen.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>35th over: India 114-3 (Rahul 53, Pant 16) <\/strong>Carse won\u2019t have too many overs left in this spell but I like how wide he\u2019s going to Pant \u2013 outside off temps him to flay, tighter tests his defence. Two dots eventuate, then two singles, before one that nips in beats the bat; it\u2019s tempting to think this is the crucial partnership of the innings, but England have been burned by Jadeja too many times for that to feel like any kind of certainty.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>34th over: India 112-3 (Rahul 52, Pant 15) <\/strong>Rahul pulls away as Woakes runs in \u2013 the second time that\u2019s happened, and even the most mild-mannered man in the world is finding it nauseating. Another maiden, and it barely needs stating that if this Test was four days, we\u2019d not be feeling like we\u2019re feeling.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"dcr-1wl2b6o\">REVIEW! NOT OUT!<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">Stokes indicated there were two noises before going upstairs and he was right; the first was bat, the second pad. Pant, though, is playing like he wants to give his wicket away.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>33rd over: India 112-3 (Rahul 52, Pant 15) <\/strong>Rahul turns a single into the on side, then Pant gets down on one knee to play another slog-sweep and instead scythes uglily over the cordon but will Root be able to catch up with it? Pant thinks he\u2019s gawn, but the wind rescues him and that\u2019s four more. He won\u2019t get away with this indefinitely, but, and the lead is 118. Then, facing the final delivery of the over, Carse coming from around, Pant slides across to the off-side, looking to play a scoop, tumbles, ball hits body, and this has got to be close but was there an edge?! The umpire rejects the appeal, and will England review? Yes they will!<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">\u201cTo understand Sunil Gavaskar\u2019s petty complaint on the naming of the trophy,\u201d advises Krishnamoorthy V, \u201cyou need to understand something about Indians. From the very early stages it has been drilled into them that being first matters. You should cone first in academics, in the lemon and spoon race, in the drawing competition, in swimming, in quiz, wherever and in whatever. Doesn\u2019t matter whether one merits it. It is seen as a birthright rather than something to strive for. Will it hard enough and it shall happen. Hence this obsession to be first everywhere, even someone as great as the original Little Master can\u2019t escape that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">India\u2019s Rishabh Pant falls to the floor after attempting to flick the ball over his shoulder.<\/span> Photograph: Danny Lawson\/PAShare<\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a007.03 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>32nd over: India 107-3 (Rahul 51, Pant 11) <\/strong>Woakes goes around to Pant and directs a ball into the body, inciting a cry of anguish from the batter, who wears it in the dress circle. I wonder, though, if HE might go a little wide on the crease to really target off-stump \u2026 and while I\u2019m doing that, Pant skips down to thrash back past the bowler for four. Already, I\u2019m looking forward to seeing how Stokes and Tongue do in these conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>31st over: India 103-3 (Rahul 51, Pant 7) <\/strong>Another maiden from Carse, who might just be establishing himself as a fixture. He looks to me like the kind of bowler who might do well in Australia too \u2013 he\u2019ll enjoy the bounce and has the pacer to drop back his length a little.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">Glastonbury, then: \u201cThank you for mentioning the magic \u2018G\u2019 word and distracting me from drafting a rather boring agreement for ten minutes,\u201d says Richard O\u2019Hagan. \u201cI think that the highlight of my viewing \u2013 from the comfort of my own sofa \u2013 will probably be the re-formed Maccabees on Sunday night. Sprints and TV on the Radio are always great live, and a special mention for Du Blonde because singer Beth Jeans Houghton always seems sweetly baffled that anyone pays her to do this. I guess that sums up most people\u2019s approach to their job. We just don\u2019t have to show it in public. Oh well, back to that agreement\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">Meantime, Henry Coleman offers thusly: \u201cBecause reviewing line-ups for festivals I cannot go to is my masochistic kink, I jumped at your invitation for Glastonbury recommendations, for which I have two:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">&#8211; The Japanese Breakfast and Lucy Dacus b2b on the Park Stage on Saturday. Both released banging albums this year. Song recc, Talk by Lucy Dacus:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">&#8211; Turnstile on the Other Stage on Sunday. Nominally a hardcore band but really these guys meld pop punk, synth pop, samba and more. Never Enough, the title track from their album, also released this year, is an absolute smasher:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">And my final proposition is that 2025 <em>may be a vintage year for alternative rock and indie<\/em> as there have already been a ton of great albums this year. This prophecy is basically no use to anyone, including myself, but hey occasionally it\u2019s nice to PROCLAIM.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>30th over: India 103-3 (Rahul 51, Pant 7) <\/strong>I can\u2019t think of many sportsfolk I\u2019ve written off more often than I\u2019ve written off Chris Woakes \u2013 Raymond van Barnveld and John Higgins, perhaps. But he\u2019s still so good and as I type, following a single to to Pant, he finds away movement off the seam, there\u2019s nothing whatsoever Rahul can do, and the ball somehow misses the bails. There\u2019s plenty in this pitch today, and much as England are enjoying it, the looming threat of Bumrah has John Williams\u2019 music playing in ma heed. A single to Rahul completes the scoring for the over.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">\u201cShould even work in Bosnia,\u201d offers Mike Barron, who sends us the TMS link.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>29th over: India 101-3 (Rahul 50, Pant 6) <\/strong>Pant immediately gets himself down the other end, so Carse consoles himself by hurling a beauty down to Rahul \u2013 it swings in and beats the edge, again with just enough lift. But a full toss follows, an edge into the on side earning two and raising a crucial 50 for the man upon whom India will be relying to navigate this innings. A further excellent delivery follows, quick and just outside off; the lead is 107.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>28th over: India 98-3 (Rahul 48, Pant 5) <\/strong>Woakes is attacking the stumps here \u2013 I\u2019m not sure he respects Pant\u2019s defence. But Pant, following that absurd hoik, is playing more watchfully now, leaving when he can before, after five dots, he stretches to shove a single into the off side \u2013 meaning he\u2019ll be on strike when Crse returns in a moment. This is intense, and it\u2019s only getting intenser.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">\u201cLovely memories of being a young kid and exposed to REM for the first time,\u201d writes Ryan Amesbury. \u201cFor me, via my Dad and his mate playing Out of Time and Automatic for the People on tape in the car, now I was old enough (9) to tag along on fishing trips, which were then still a spectator sport.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">I\u2019m currently on holiday in Bosnia, and both me and my wife have been struck down with a summer cold. I thought TMS would be just the ticket for an afternoon hiding from the Mostar sun\u2026 but\u2026 \u201c<em>This content isn\u2019t available in your location\u2026<\/em>\u201d quoth the website. No Five Live Sports Extra on the BBC Sounds app. What is the Beeb doing?! So I know the OBO isn\u2019t a helpline, but I\u2019ve tried turning it on and off again and that hasn\u2019t worked. How do all the fine correspondents of the OBO and TMS itself around the globe manage VPNs?!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>27th over: India 97-3 (Rahul 48, Pant 4) <\/strong>I really enjoy the almost balletic nature of Carse\u2019s gather \u2013 it\u2019s almost a prink rather than a leap \u2013 and I\u2019m sure helps him extract the bounce he\u2019s getting this morning. Rahul actually rides it pretty well while, in comms, Stuart Broad notes how much he\u2019d like to bowl on this, willing a grubber to really get the batters thinking. Maiden.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">\u201cI can understand the frustration with the naming of the series trophy,\u201d consoles Brian Withington, \u201cwhen it could so obviously have been the \u2018Suni(l) Jim(my) Cup\u2019 and to hell with alphabetical order.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>26th over: India 97-3 (Rahul 48, Pant 4) <\/strong>Woakes replaces Bashir and Rahul shoves a single to point; how is Pant going to play here? Ahahaha, I think we know the answer to that, the rivers of suggestion driving him away; he leaves his first ball, then unloads the suitcase at the next with such violence you half expect to see his arms flying over the boundary, but instead slices an edge over slip for four.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">\u201cMorning Daniel, morning everyone,\u201d begins Darrien Bold. \u201cInteresting that Pete says you reference an REM deep cut? The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite was a top 20 single (and a mainstay of Now 26), so there are clearly much deeper cuts to squeeze into the OBO. Anyway, I\u2019ll get back to enjoying the commentary team reviewing the Aus SA final and hear about how the Test was won and where it got us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">All part of life\u2019s rich pageant, I\u2019d say.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a006.12 EDT<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"dcr-1wl2b6o\">WICKET! Gill b Carse 8 (India 92-3)<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">A huge moment! Carse has started well and Gill looks to play a run-down, but as he opens the face, the ball jags in and provokes him to play on! Now then!<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">India&#8217;s Shubman Gill is bowled out by England&#8217;s Brydon Carse.<\/span> Photograph: Danny Lawson\/PA<span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Carse celebrates.<\/span> Photograph: Clive Mason\/Getty Images<span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Whilst Gill looks dejected as he walks off the field.<\/span> Photograph: Scott Heppell\/APShare<\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a006.22 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>25th over: India 92-2 (Rahul 47, Gill 8) <\/strong>It\u2019s going to be Crydon Barse, down the hill but into the wind, and I\u2019m really glad he\u2019s getting a proper go at Test cricket \u2013 you could see when he started playing ODIs that he had something. Anyroad, he\u2019s charging in with intensity; Gill yanks him around the corner to deep backward square and they run two.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>24th over: India 90-2 (Rahul 47, Gill 6) <\/strong>A dot to begin. The lead is 96.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>Shoaib Bashir has the ball, <\/strong>and will finish off his over from last evening.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>Here come our players\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>\u201cBeautiful test but India will be disappointed with themselves,\u201d reckons Arul Kanhere.<\/strong> \u201cWith all due respect to Shardul, who has rescued both India and Mumbai from dire straits \u2026 India need a player who can get in on his primary skill and be handy with the secondary one. Shardul is helping with none at the moment.&#8221; This could always come back to bite me in the ass if the top order collapses and Lord Thakur scores a century \u2026 beautiful game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>\u201cMaybe Sunil Gavaskar is still cheesed off at the Australia-India trophy being called Border-Gavaskar rather than Gavaskar-Border,\u201d<\/strong> suggests Andy Flintoff, \u201cbecause, <em>obviously,<\/em> he has the better record (AB averages 50.56, SG averages 51.12).\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">That pesky alphabet again \u2013 though also worth noting AB has 39 Test wickets.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>Email! <\/strong>\u201cThanks for the REM deep cut so early in the OBO,\u201d writes Pete. \u201cAs a longtime tragic fan, I approve. I do dislike that song though. At their most annoying, alongside Shiny Happy People.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">It\u2019s not one of my favourites either, but SHP has a place in my heart because it was, after Near Wild Heaven, the first REM song I heard and, aged 11, it moved me. What a band, though \u2013 at 46, I feel I can say that they are both my favourite and the best of my music-listening career.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">On which point, if anyone has any Glastonbury recommendations, send em in.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>Athers, meanwhile, notes that Dinesh Karthik was \u201cpart of the elite commentary panel\u201d \u2013<\/strong> notably, he was not, which is unusual. Perhaps he needs to get dapperer.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span> Photograph: SkyShare<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>On Sky, they\u2019re talking about the WTC final \u2013 and what an occasion that was. <\/strong>I was lucky enough to be there on days one and three, and it felt like the start of something. I can\u2019t deny that on Friday morning, we felt Australia had more than enough runs, but as South Africa\u2019s response developed, we realised that for Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma, this was it. The Aussie team and players have their legacies assured, but for these two, it was bringing this home or nothing, and watching them do it was so moving. <strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>So let\u2019s talk turkey: how many runs will India want?<\/strong> My sense is that, though the Headingley track generally gets better to bat on, the unusually clement will mean it\u2019s crumblier and flakier than usual \u2013 ideal for Bumrah and not bad for Jadeja either. I reckon India will want 350, but my sense is England will either successfully chase almost any target they\u2019re set, or get nowhere near anything sub sub sub sub substantial.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>It\u2019s windy and chilly in Leeds this morning which makes sense \u2013<\/strong> generally speaking, the east of the country is cold, the west is rainy. Ian Ward has his anorak on, while Stuart Broad is in blazer and off-white drainpipe chinos. Just as well he\u2019s got 604 Test wickets.<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>Do these two handsome devils l<\/strong>ook alike?<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Jasprit Cunha<\/span> Photograph: Matt West\/Shutterstock<span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Matheus Bumrah<\/span> Photograph: Allstar Picture Library Ltd\/Neal Simpson\/Apl\/SportsphotoShare<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>There\u2019s something very sweet about one Little Master repping for another but \u2026<\/strong> have you heard of the alphabet?<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"dcr-1wl2b6o\">Preamble<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">So, four-day Tests, then: who\u2019s up for those?<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">I can\u2019t lie, it\u2019s tempting to leave this preamble there \u2013 and not just to avoid writing any more words because really, what kind of people would seek to curtail the world\u2019s greatest sporting format? But the format itself and this particular iteration of it deserve better than a pithy line directed at those who would happily ruin it for money, so let\u2019s also wonder about the actual contest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">It\u2019s impossible to predict what\u2019s going to happen from here. India look the likelier because Bumrah and a wearing day-five pitch sound like the most unpleasant double-act imaginable \u2026 except the ability of Baz n\u2019 Ben\u2019s Testvangelists to chase previously ungettable targets is like nothing we\u2019ve ever seen before. It\u2019d be no surprise to see India bat too long , just as it\u2019d be none were the greatest bowler in the world to tear through England in a session.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">In other words, it feels like the direction this match takes is up to the tourists. Of course, it\u2019s possible England knock them over then knock off the runs, but far more likely that India set a testing target with all three results possible well into tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\">And though a result some time on the final afternoon is part of the perfect Test pro forma, it\u2019s not actually the most powerful argument in favour of keeping things as they are. Many great matches end sooner than the fifth day, but the potential existence of that fifth day necessarily impacts those which come before it. Our society primes us to constantly be seeking better and different, which is fine \u2013 as long as we can also recognise that sometimes, things are great as they are. And make no mistake, this is, and is going to be that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-16w5gq9\"><strong>Play: 11am BST<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature 46th over: India 148-3 (Rahul 71, Pant 27) And, with 10 minutes to go until lunch, Stokes tosses Bashir the ball, as rain starts to fall; he begins well, with one that straightens past Pant\u2019s bat, and you wonder for how<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[1144,131,311,426,132,1143,76],"class_list":{"0":"post-9432","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-cricket","9":"tag-day","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-india","12":"tag-live","13":"tag-mens","14":"tag-test"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}