Pant made his first half-century of the series as he scored 50 off 106 deliveries while Shardul scored 60 off just 72 balls.
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India have well and truly come back into the fourth Test match against England with a spirited batting display. At the end of the second session on Day 4, India managed to get a humungous lead of 346 runs and they still have two wickets in hand. The lead increased by an incredible 116 runs after the conclusion of the first session and the two main driving forces behind this were Rishabh Pant and Shardul Thakur. Pant made his first half-century of the series as he scored 50 runs before being dismissed by Moeen Ali. Shardul is in the form of his life with the bat. He scored his second half-century of the match. He was dismissed on 60 by England skipper Joe Root. It was a quick knock as it came off just 72 deliveries. The two batters currently in the middle for the visitors are Umesh Yadav on 13 and Jasprit Bumrah on 19.
Sharma scored 127 runs before being dismissed by Ollie Robinson on Day 3. It was the kind of innings that would fill the rest of the batters with a lot of confidence. Sharma was calm, composed, and patient and Day 4 saw a number of the Indian batters trying to emulate what the opener had done. It really was an inspirational innings from Rohit.
He had very good support at the start of the innings from KL Rahul. The opener scored 46 runs off 101 deliveries, narrowly missing out on his half-century. Then Cheteshwar Pujara – once again – proved why he is such an integral part of the Indian Test team. He played a fine knock of 61 deliveries. At the end of Day 3, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja were the two batters in the middle for the visitors.
For the Indian skipper, a century seems a ways off as of yet. He did play a good knock and made 44 runs but it is nowhere near what one expects from a player with the caliber of the Indian skipper. He will be disappointed with his performance. Ajinkya Rahane was the next one to come out, but he did not trouble the scores. His place in the Test squad will be in serious peril after this performance. As the play broke for lunch, Shardul Thakur and Rishabh Pant were the two batters for India in the middle.
Shardul is fresh off a magnificent half-century in the first innings of the match and will be looking to do more of the same in the second. For Pant, it is a question of whether he deserves his place in the Test side at the moment. He has not had a good series with the bat at all till now and with the likes of Wriddhiman Saha and Ishan Kishan, among others, waiting in the wings, he will have to prove himself and fast.
The English bowlers, so far, have been utterly frustrated by the brilliant batting display from India. Joe Root has used six bowlers so far, including himself. Ollie Robinson and Chris Woakes have hit the mark more than the others as the duo has picked up a couple of wickets each. Woakes took Ravindra Jadeja for 17 and Ajinkya Rahane for a duck on the day.
James Anderson and Moeen Ali, two veterans of the sport, have taken a wicket each as well. The latter sent skipper Kohli back to the dressing room. Overall, the session is one that was shared equally between the two teams, but it is the Indians who have somehow turned this match on its head and are currently in the driver’s seat.
