India finished the first session of Day Four at Edgbaston with a commanding 357-run lead, thanks to contrasting innings from KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. (Also Read: Shubman Gill Scores Twin Centuries as India Dominate England at Edgbaston)
Rahul played a composed knock under heavy skies. Pant, in typical fashion, brought urgency and unpredictability.
Resuming on 28, Rahul took his time. Floodlights were on. The ball moved just enough. Brydon Carse found rhythm, troubling both Rahul and Karun Nair. Nair never settled. A short ball struck his helmet grille. A few overs later, he drove loosely and was caught behind for 26.
Rahul remained composed amid the noise and brought up his fifty with ease. It didn’t last long. Josh Tongue bowled full, kept going despite being hit, and got his reward. A delivery shaped in before moving away just enough to beat the outside edge and crash into middle stump.
Then came Pant.
On his fourth ball, he charged and launched it straight back over Tongue’s head. His grip slipped mid-swing on another shot. He had to collect his bat from square leg. Not much changed.
Zak Crawley dropped him on 10. A simple chance at mid-off off Stokes. Pant responded by slog-sweeping Tongue into the stands. Then came a flurry of boundaries off Shoaib Bashir.
By lunch, he was unbeaten on 41 off 35.
At the other end, Shubman Gill remained steady. India’s captain looked in no rush. He’ll have to decide how much is enough.
England once chased 378 here against the same team, on the same date, three years ago.
This time, the target might be out of reach.
