England began the day in a solid position at 154-4, with Joe Root and Ben Stokes guiding them toward what seemed like a defendable total. But Washington Sundar changed the script with a brilliant spell of off-spin, claiming 4-22 – the best figures by an Indian spinner in England in over two decades. He bowled both Root and Stokes, then removed Jamie Smith and Shoaib Bashir to end England’s innings abruptly.
In reply, India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal for a duck and then Karun Nair, Shubman Gill and Akash Deep in quick succession. KL Rahul remains unbeaten on 33, but the pitch has shown sharp bounce and variable pace, making batting tricky. England’s Brydon Carse and Stokes bowled with venom, with Carse picking up two wickets and Stokes cleaning up Deep on the final ball of the day.
The day wasn’t short on heat either. Stokes appeared to mock Rahul after the nightwatchman’s dismissal, continuing a theme of feisty exchanges after Gill had clapped sarcastically at England’s openers a day earlier.
India now need 135 more runs to win the Test and take a 2-1 series lead, while England require six wickets on a spicy pitch. With tempers flaring and pressure mounting, Day 5 promises to be an absolute thriller at the Home of Cricket.
