England have taken a lead of 186 runs against India. By the end of play on Friday, England had scored 544 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their first innings. At stumps, Ben Stokes was unbeaten on 77 and Chris Woakes was at the crease with four runs. Earlier, India were bowled out for 358 runs in their first innings.
The Indian bowlers struggled as England’s batters dominated. Play began in the morning with England at 225/2. Ollie Pope was on 20 off 42 balls and Joe Root was on 11 off 27 balls, with England trailing by 133 runs. In the first session, Root and Pope stitched together a 135-run partnership, taking the total to 332. India finally broke the stand in the second session when Washington Sundar had Pope caught by KL Rahul for 71. Pope and Root added 144 runs for the third wicket from 231 balls. Sundar struck again soon after, dismissing Harry Brook for just three runs.
Captain Ben Stokes then joined Joe Root at the crease and the pair guided England past India’s first innings total of 358. During this period, Root reached his 38th Test century against India, scoring 150 runs off 178 balls before falling to Ravindra Jadeja. With this knock, Root moved into second place on the list of all-time leading run scorers in Test cricket, surpassing Ricky Ponting’s tally of 13,378 runs. Root now has 13,379* runs to his name. Sachin Tendulkar remains at the top with 15,921 runs in 329 innings.
There was a brief concern for England when Ben Stokes retired hurt due to cramps in his left leg, but he later returned to the field. He remains unbeaten on 77 off 134 balls, hitting six fours. Jamie Smith contributed nine runs, Chris Woakes is unbeaten on four, and Liam Dawson made 21 runs off 52 balls with two boundaries.
For India, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar took two wickets each, while Jasprit Bumrah, Anshul Kamboj, and Mohammed Siraj claimed one wicket apiece.