Follow UsAfter not bowling a single over on Day 4 due to stiffness and soreness, England captain Ben Stokes returned to bowl on the final day of the fourth Test in Manchester and made an immediate impact.
India, who had survived two full sessions without losing a wicket on Day 4, were hoping that Shubman Gill and KL Rahul could continue their resistance and help save the Test. The pair had already put on 174 runs on Day 4 after India lost two wickets in the very first over of their second innings.
Left-arm spinner Liam Dawson started the day’s bowling on July 27 (Sunday), but Stokes brought himself on in the second over. Right away, the pitch started to misbehave - some balls kept low, one jumped up, and Gill had a couple of close calls. He even got a life when Ollie Pope dropped a catch in Stokes’s second over.
Then came the breakthrough. In his fourth over, Stokes delivered the unplayable ball - a good-length delivery from outside off that jagged back in and kept low, trapping Rahul plumb in front for 90. It was so plumb that Rahul didn’t even think about reviewing and walked off.
Just like that, the 188-run stand was broken, and of course, it was Stokes who made it happen.