Edgbaston – day four, lunch: India 587 & 177-3; England 407. Lead 357
KL Rahul moved from 28 overnight to a neat, work-manlike 55, laying the platform for Rishabh Pant’s 35-ball 41 not out. By the break India were 357 in front, already thinking about how big a target is enough on a surface that still looks sound but is starting to scuff.
Rahul batted through a gloomy first hour with the lights on, milked the gaps and left plenty. Brydon Carse was lively, twice rapping Karun Nair on the helmet before finding the edge to send him back for 26. “The pitch is still pretty true, but you’ve got to earn runs when it’s this cloudy,” Rahul told BBC Test Match Special. “My job was to get us through the first hour.”
Josh Tongue persisted with a full length and was rewarded when one nipped late to beat Rahul’s outside edge and trim the middle stump. Tongue’s celebration said it all: relief as much as joy.
Enter Pant. Fourth ball, a waltz down the track and a clean swing back over Tongue’s head for six. On ten he lost his grip, the bat flying to square-leg, and moments later Zak Crawley shelled a straightforward chance at mid-off off Ben Stokes. Pant made England pay: another straight six, a violent slog-sweep, and three boundaries in as many overs off Shoaib Bashir.
Former England opener Mark Butcher, on Sky Sports, reckoned India’s approach was spot-on: “Quick runs now, then a declaration whenever they fancy. They know England won’t die wondering.”
At the other end Shubman Gill (29*) tip-toed along, content to watch the fireworks. India will talk totals in the dressing-room; three years ago England chased 378 here, a fact nobody in blue has forgotten. Rahul smiled when reminded: “We’ll need a few more.”
