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Pre-lunch carelessness to 'Fourth innings Stokes': Plenty for India to brainstorm over ahead of 4th Test

New Delhi [India], July 19 (ANI): Team India heads into the fourth Test at Manchester with the scoreline reading 2-1 in England favour and the series at stake. Both teams have been equally dominant so far and the scoreline does not give one a true picture of the series. As one says about life, little things matter. So it does in cricket. Every word said, a scorching spell or a silly/audacious shot, an untimely dismissal could end up being match defining. It is some of these little things India has not taken into account, which caused an extremely possible history-making 3-0 scoreline to turn into 1-2. It is only right that these things are looked into as the team bus heads to Manchester. Pre-Lunch wickets lost by India: Throughout this whole Test series, those 30 minutes before lunch or in easy terms, the first session of the Test match, have been troublesome for India. In context of the match, these have been game-changers for England and a vibe killer in equal measure for Indian players and fans alike. Out of 56 wickets India have lost in the series, 10 of them came within that particular 30-minute time frame before lunch. During the first Leeds Test, India lost KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan just before lunch, reducing India to 92/2 instead of what could have been a wicketless session. While it did not effect India immediately, what happened on day two before lunch ended up stealing the game from India. The visitors were cruising at 430/3, with the centurions Rishabh Pant and skipper Shubman Gill having battered the Dukes ball and English attack to the pulp. However 30 minutes before lunch, they lost Gill, Rishabh Pant, a returning Karun Nair for a duck and Shardul Thakur quickly, heading to first session end at 454/7. Skipper Ben Stokes and Josh Tongue made a light work of the Indian tail and what looked like a 500-plus score a few minutes back, was reduced to 471. A similar collapse occurred during the second innings, with India leading by 370 runs. 371 was set for England to chase, which they chased down with a few hiccups in their Bazball style, reaffirming its legitimacy against a top-class side again. Looking back in retrospective, those extra runs would have made the target above 400, increasing the scoreboard pressure and giving India some more cushion. During the Edgbaston Test, the fall of Karun Nair (1ST innings) and Ravindra Jadeja (2nd innings) half an hour before lunch did not have much effect as Indian bowlers did their job. But it contributed to India number three conundrum as Nair could not convert his promising knock of 31 into something meaningful, be it a half-century or century. Backing Nair as India number three has not really paid off since then, returning back with scores of 14, 40 and 26 since then. The Lord was when the a pre-Lunch wicket costed Team India the most. In reply to England first innings total of 387, India was cruising at 248/3, with a 141-run partnership between a fiery Rishabh Pant and a calm, composed KL Rahul in operation. Both looked set to register their names on the Lord Honours Board with centuries. But a KL-Pant century partnership in England has always ended in a tragedy, be it at Southampton back in 2018 or during the ongoing series. Skipper Stokes launched a rocket from cover point, crashing the twin century dream. India could have added extra 50-60 or even 20-30 runs with Pant being around during the second session, which would have lightened their 193-run target, but it was not meant to be. During the post-match presser, skipper Shubman Gill identified the run-out as a turning point of the game, which prevented India from taking a first innings lead as they ended up with 387 runs, with nothing separating both the sides. During the run-chase, when India had collapsed to 82/7 with 111 runs still to go, Jadeja offered some hopes with one of his finest Test knocks ever and got support from tailenders Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah, who collectively contributed nine runs in 84 balls and took India close to a series lead, before a ball rolling back into Siraj stumps sent an entire nation into heartbreak. Before these commendable stands with Siraj and Bumrah, Jadeja also had a 30-run partnership with Nitish Kumar Reddy, but the young all-rounder was Chris Woakes victim, caught behind by Jamie Smith for a hard-fought 13 in 53 balls and lunch was taken immediately after. Another few runs added with Nitish would have lessened the pressure on Siraj and Bumrah to look for survival, but perhaps, it was not meant to be. Psychological warfare: The game of cricket, as much as it is defined by bat and ball, is also played mentally. During the final moments of day four, skipper Shubman Gill and his troops sledged, taunted and surrounded openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, as they wasted time to allow as less Jasprit Bumrah balls as possible to be bowled. It was reminiscent of what his idol Virat Kohli could do, give England hell at their own backyard. With a blow to Crawley hand, Jasprit Bumrah had given England a short glimpse of the hell that awaited them. It seemed, Gill was ready to rewrite Kohli-led dismantling of England at Lord back in 2021 in his own words and pack them up for a sub-par, easy to chase score. The possibility of this loomed large on England when a target of just 193 runs was set. However, the entire episode clearly fired up England while defending it. It was absolute no mercy from Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and skipper Stokes, who pushed themselves beyond their physical limits to trouble Indian bowlers. Jofra workload and speed after four years of no red-ball cricket, Stokes declining knees and fitness and Carse body being sore was no longer a problem when the run-chase was on. On day four, Carse and Stokes troubled India with their line and lengths, with Carse getting Nair and skipper Gill. With crowd completely behind the hosts, England bowlers and the weight of those 193 runs had just started getting into India heads. As Akashdeep received medical treatment, Stokes clapped before Rahul out of sarcasm, just like Gill and his team had done a day before. On the final day, Stokes bowled relentlessly for almost ten overs. While comeback man Archer struck India with a massive blow, sending Pant stumps cartwheeling. The express pacer gave the Indian vice-captain an aggressive send-off, before Stokes landed the Coup de Grace by cleaning up team crisis-man and Mr Anchor KL Rahul. A one-handed catch by Archer sent back a technically-sound Washington Sundar for a duck. From those final few overs of day four to the opening fifth day session, England was all over England, mentally and on-field as well. India tried playing the mental disintegration game against England, only for it to backfire on them when the hosts asked them serious questions with their bowling. Fourth Innings Stokes: For England, their skipper Stokes is the miracle man. An all-time great knock with the bat? A game-changing spell? A crucial piece of fielding? Dial S for Superhuman Stokes and he comes in clutch, turning naysayers into believers. As a bowler during the fourth innings of a Test, he is a dangerous entity, with 40 wickets in 48 Tests and 32 innings, averaging 23.91, conceding runs at an economy rate of 2.91, with figures of 4/40. His strike rate is 47.5 during this phase as a bowler. 20 of these wickets have come in England in 14 innings, averaging 23.00 and containing runs at an economy rate of 3.11. This was young India first brush up with the fourth innings Stokes. With a bat in hand, he is just as dangerous during fourth innings of a Test match in England. Australia can vouch for it, having made 680 runs in 16 innings at an average of 52.30, with two centuries and four fifties. In his last 10 innings at this phase, he has made 565 runs at an average of over 80, with two centuries and three fifties, including two dynamite centuries against Australia. Shut the number three revolving door: Ever since Team India moved on from Cheteshwar Pujara after World Test Championship final loss back in 2023, Team India has tried skipper Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair at the spot. Except for a rich home season last year by Gill, the team is yet to see great returns from their number three away from home. While Sudharsan managed 0 and 30 in the Leeds Tests at that position, Nair run at this number has not inspired much confidence either. Beautiful looking 30s and 40s are not the way to go in Tests and there is no one providing those marathon knocks which Pujara used to deliver effortlessly. Will it be Nair? Will it be Sai? Or a left-field name like Dhruv Jurel, who could be played as a wicketkeeper-batter keeping Rishabh injury in mind. A long-term solution is needed and so is a big knock. No better occasion than Old Trafford Test for that, with the series at stake. Manage workloads of Pant and Mohammed Siraj: While everyone has been talking about Bumrah workload, the stress Pant and Siraj have put their bodies through has went under the radar. Pant is facing an injury on his finger, which could rule him out of wicketkeeping. So do India play Jurel after all? Or they continue with Pant pulling off the double duty through pain? Also, since January 2023, Siraj has bowled a whooping 792.5 overs, the most by an Indian pacer in international cricket, taking 117 wickets in 60 matches. He has missed only three Tests, making him a truly a workhorse bowler. Siraj is all-heart, all-in, all-fired-up while bowling. But for how long can he persist being the silent warrior steaming in full tilt, hitting the deck relentlessly with every inch of his emotion and effort evident during his spells? Kuldeep in for Washington?: With 30 wickets in 11 Tests and batting average of almost 39 with some remarkable knocks to his name, Washington is one brilliant all-rounder. The 25-year-old arrival into India grand scheme of things has come after Ravichandran Ashwin retirement from international cricket. But at Old Trafford, eight out of top 20 wicket-takers have been spinners. Spinners average 31.59 at Old Trafford, have an economy rate of 2.56 at the venue. The average strike rate of spinners at the venue is 74.00. The bowling average for a left-arm spinner here drops to 29.06, making it one of the best venues for a left-arm spinner in England, next to Leeds (average of 27.30). What time better than this to bring in Kuldeep, whose strike rate of 37.3 is highest among all the bowlers with atleast 50 wickets in Test cricket history. Having not played a Test since October 2024, this attacking spinner, who also averages an incredible 22.28 against England (though in India) could make use to his past experiences well and add more to his tally of 13 Tests and 56 wickets. Batting depth could be compromised, but taking 20 wickets is a much more important task in Tests. (ANI) Disclaimer: This news article is a direct feed from ANI and has not been edited by the News Nation team. The news agency is solely responsible for its content.

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