STUMPS

Bad light leads to early stumps on day four. What a fascinating day of Test cricket that was. England remain on top but a superb 100-run partnership between Pujara and Rahane has helped India take a 154-run lead. Pant (14 off 29) and Ishant (4 off 10) are the unbeaten batsmen.

IND 181/6 after 82 overs: Kohli and the Indian team aren’t at all happy. It’s very dark now and they want play to be called off.

Joe Root continues his spell as England don’t get the second new ball. It’s gotten very dark at Lord’s over the past half hour.

IND 175/6 after 79.1 overs: WICKET! An absolute peach of a delivery from Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja’s (3 off 5) off stump is knocked back. India have lost three quick wickets now and England are five balls away from the second new ball.

IND 167/5 after 76 overs: WICKET! India have lost both their set batsmen. Ajinkya Rahane edges one from Moeen Ali to the keeper and departs for 61 off 146. India lead by 140 runs. The second new ball is four overs away.

IND 163/4 after 74 overs: Loud chants of “Rishabh Pant” at Lord’s. The left-hander has come to the crease and wasted no time in getting busy. He has raced to 8 off 6. India lead by 133 runs.

IND 155/4 after 72.4 overs: WICKET! Wood gets Pujara! It shot up sharply and caught the glove before flying to the slip cordon. Pujara added 100 runs for the 4th wicket with Rahane and walks back for a well-compiled 45 off 206.

IND 151/3 after 72 overs: Joe Root comes on to bowl and concedes two singles in his first over. A loud cheer from the crowd after Cheteshwar Pujara faces his 200th delivery.

IND 139/3 after 68 overs: 50 for Ajinkya Rahane! This has been a quality knock from the India No 5. His teammates stand up in applause. He took his time to get going but has played some fine strokes and looks well set now.

IND 131/3 after 65 overs: Shot! Moeen changes ends and tosses one up, Rahane takes a big stride out and sweeps it hard for four. Brilliant shot! India lead by 104 now, this partnership has added 76 off 251.

IND 120/3 after 61 overs: England lose their second review. Anderson got one to rise sharply and beat Rahane’s outside edge. Root decided to take hot spot and it showed no spike.

IND 120/3 after 60 overs: Dropped! Rahane survives as Bairstow drops a tough chance. The right-hander cut one from Moeen hard and it went low to point. Bairtstow got both hands to it but the ball spilled out.

IND 117/3 after 57 overs: Shot! Anderson drops it short and Pujara gets on top of the bounce to cut it powerfully past point for four. That was perhaps the most commanding shot he has played this innings.

IND 113/3 after 56 overs: Pressure being built from Moeen with a tight line. Pujara is keen on using his feet but the off-spinner is mixing up his lengths nicely. Meanwhile, Rahane ends the over by coming down the track and hitting one in the air just wide of mid-on for four. He wasn’t in control of the shot but got the desired result.

8.31 pm: Pujara and Rahane have done well so far but there’s still plenty of work remaining. India lead by 78 runs with seven wickets in hand. This promises to be another fascinating session.

TEA

Big smiles on Pujara and Rahane’s faces. They have batted out an entire session and built a crucial partnership for India.

IND 105/3 after 53 overs: 50-run partnership between Cheteshwar Pujara (29 off 148) and Ajinkya Rahane (24 off 74) is up! The duo has taken 175 balls to get there but they’re looking well set now.

IND 103/3 after 52 overs: Moeen Ali has found a rough patch outside off and is exploiting it well. Some deliveries are turning in sharply and some are zipping straight through.

IND 96/3 after 49 overs: Wood is testing the batsmen with short pitched bowling and fielders at catching positions. But Pujara and Rahane are defending well and even rotating the strike more freely now.

IND 85/3 after 45 overs: Cheteshwar Pujara gets his first boundary! It took 118 balls but it was a fine shot past square-leg. India lead by 58 runs.

IND 75/3 after 39 overs: Pujara (11 off 96) and Rahane (12 off 42) have survived the first hour after lunch and India now lead by 48 runs.

IND 75/3 after 38 overs: Four! Loud cheers by the Indian fans at Lord’s as Rahane picks up his second boundary. Curran pitched it full and on the pads, the right-hander clipped it firmly past square-leg.

IND 68/3 after 35 overs: Welcome boundary for India! Robinson returns to the attack and drops it short, Rahane rocks back and pulls it for four. The right-hander is strong in that area.

IND 63/3 after 32 overs: Another fiery spell from Wood. He’s hovering around the 90 mph mark. Pujara has moved on to 7 off 68, with Rahane on 4 off 28. India lead by 36 runs.

IND 60/3 after 29 overs: Anderson continuing with a tight line. There’s more confidence in the way Rahane is going about his business. Assured footwork and full commitment in his shots.

IND 56/3 after 26 overs: Maiden over by Wood to start the post-lunch session. Pujara is looking more assured in his defence now.

6.12 pm: Can Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane build a big partnership? A make or break session coming up for India.

LUNCH

Yet another dominant session for England. India lost the wickets of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. They lead by 29 runs. Cheteshwar Pujara (3* off 46), Ajinkya Rahane (1* off 8) and the players to follow have a huge task at hand.

IND 55/3 after 23.1 overs: WICKET! Sam Curran gets Virat Kohli! The Indian captain pokes at a wide delivery – a big gap between bat and pad – and the edge is taken by Jos Buttler. India in all sorts of trouble. Kohli made 20 off 31.

IND 53/2 after 22 overs: England lose a review! Curran hit Kohli on the front pad and Root opted for DRS. The replay showed the ball going over.

IND 52/2 after 21 overs: Two fours! Kohli plays with soft hands and gets a thick outside edge to the boundary. He then flicks one through the short-leg fielder for four. Robinson returns to the attack and bowls an expensive over.

IND 42/2 after 18 overs: Kohli takes a single off the first ball and then Curran bowls five dot balls to Pujara. The right-hander has faced 31 balls and is yet to get off the mark.

IND 41/2 after 17 overs: Four! Another confident front foot drive by Kohli, this time past extra-cover. Pujara has faced 26 balls and is yet to get off the mark.

IND 31/2 after 14 overs: What a shot! Kohli with a picture-perfect cover-drive for four. The knee was bent, the foot was close to the pitch of the ball, and the bat came down in a clean motion. Gavaskar enjoyed that in commentary.

IND 27/2 after 13 overs: Anderson with a testing over to Pujara, he got the outside edge but it fell short of Root at first slip. Kohli is the new batsman. India have a one-run lead now. They’re 1 for 2 effectively.

IND 27/2 after 12 overs: WICKET! Rohit Sharma pulled one for six earlier in the over but this time he hits it straight to the fielder in the deep. Mark Wood gets his second. The scores are level but India are in trouble.

IND 18/1 after 9.2 overs: WICKET! Big blow to India as KL Rahul is gone! Mark Wood gets the outside edge and Jos Buttler doesn’t make a mistake. Rahul walks back for 5 off 30. Cheteshwar Pujara is the new batsman. India trail by nine runs.

IND 18/0 after 9 overs: Just a single in that Anderson over. Rahul takes a confident stride out and finds the gap between extra-cover and point.

IND 17/0 after 8 overs: Maiden over from Wood. He’s bowling at some serious pace. Even touched 150mph in that over. But Rohit is looking solid in defence, getting behind the ball nicely.

IND 17/0 after 7 overs: Rahul survives! Anderson pitched it full, swung it in and struck the front pad. The umpire said not out and Root went for DRS. The review showed umpire’s call as the ball was just clipping the leg stump. That was mighty close!

IND 15/0 after 6 overs: Shot! Rohit gets a delivery on his pads and he flicks it stylishly through mid-wicket for four. Interesting move by Root to replace Robinson with Wood this early.

IND 9/0 after 5 overs: Rahul tries to get his bat out of the way but gets an edge to it, the ball bounces ahead of Burns at third slip and he dives across to get a hand to it. There was an appeal for caught behind down leg off the last ball but it had gone off the thigh. Maiden over from Anderson.

IND 9/0 after 4 overs: First boundary of the morning! Rohit plays a firm forward defence and the ball races past the bowler for four. Before that, Rohit played a confident drive through cover for two. Seven runs came from that Robinson over.

IND 2/0 after 3 overs: Top delivery by Anderson and very well negotiated by Rahul. It climbed on him but he kept soft hands and the ball fell well short of the slip cordon. Another maiden over.

IND 2/0 after 2 overs: Maiden over by Robinson to start off. He dragged a couple of deliveries down leg but then found the off stump line. Rohit leaving the ball well.

IND 2/0 after 1 over: Both openers get off the mark with their first balls. Anderson drifts onto the pads and they pick singles to fine-leg. There’s swing and seam on offer. The pitch will have moisture because of the rain in the morning.

3.30 pm: Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul have a big job on their hands again. Jimmy Anderson with the new ball in hand. The conditions are overcast. Here we go!

3.21 pm: There was some rain but it has cleared out now and the covers are off. Play will begin on time.

3.00 pm: Hello and welcome to live coverage of day four of the second Test between India and England at Lord’s.

England captain Joe Root’s commanding 180 not-out, his second successive Test hundred and fifth this year, guided the hosts into a slender first-innings lead against India at Lord’s on Saturday.

Root hardly erred during a near nine-hour stay at the crease in the second Test that was the cornerstone of England’s 391 – 27 runs ahead of an India first-innings 364 where KL Rahul made 129 and fellow opener Rohit Sharma 83.

The England skipper faced 321 balls, with 18 fours, before James Anderson was bowled by Mohammed Shami off the last ball of the third day’s play.

Root, with innings of 64 and 109, had been the only England batsman to pass fifty in last week’s rain-marred drawn first Test of this five-match series at Trent Bridge.

On Saturday, however, he was ably assisted in a fourth-wicket partnership of 121 by Jonny Bairstow until his Yorkshire team-mate gave his innings away on 57.

For India, Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the bowlers and returned with a four-wicket haul.

– AFP