India endured a punishing Day 3 at Old Trafford as England tightened their grip on the fourth Test with a commanding total and a historic statistic to show for it. The visitors were made to toil under clear skies in Manchester, with little reward for their bowlers despite sporadic breakthroughs.The damage began early, as Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett stitched together a dominant 166-run opening stand. Ravindra Jadeja and debutant Anshul Kamboj managed to break the partnership, but England were already in cruise control.Joe Root then took charge with a masterclass in batting, notching up150, while Ollie Pope contributed 71 off 128 balls to further frustrate the Indian attack. With runs flowing freely and no significant threat from the bowlers, England surged past the 500-run mark — the first time India have conceded such a total in an overseas Test since January 2015.
That previous instance came during the Sydney Test in 2015. Since then, India had managed to avoid conceding 500-plus totals away from home. However, this is now the third time England have breached that mark against them in recent years — following 537 in Rajkot (2016) and 578 in Chennai (2021).
Poll
What do you think is the main reason for India’s struggle in the current Test match?
With stumps coming soon on Day 3, England looked well set to push their total closer to 600 and bat deep into Day 4, leaving India staring at a massive first-innings deficit. With the series on the line, Shubman Gill’s men face an uphill battle to claw back into the contest.
