India v England, 2nd Test, Day 4 LIVE – India pick up sixth wicket to put England in big trouble

England 196-6 (Stokes 2, Foakes 0) Overs: 45

England require 203 runs to win. Bumrah surprises Stokes with a ball which keeps low and whistles past his outside edge. One pitches and flies high outside Foakes off stump as well, all making the batsmen’s task even harder.

England 195-6 (Stokes 1, Foakes 0) Overs: 44

England require 204 runs to win. Stokes gets off the mark. He will be circumspect for the first 20 balls or so. Then he will launch – and he will need to for a long time. Kuldeep beats the outside of Foakes’ edge with a beautiful delivery.

England 194-6 (Stokes 0, Foakes 0) Overs: 43

England require 205 runs to win. The last two balls of Bumrah’s over are defended by Foakes. A big ask for these two now.

All set for the second session

The equation is simple going into the second session: India need four more wickets, England require 205 runs.

In any circumstances that would have India as firm favourites to win this Test, and a pitch that is offering turn for the spinners and some uneven bounce for the pacers means the match is even more in India’s favour.

But while Ben Stokes is out in the middle England will still have the faintest glimmer of hope.

I’ll hand over to Ciaran Baynes who’ll bring you the live updates for the rest of the day’s play.

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The wickets to fall in the first session

Rehan Ahmed, up at number three, was the first wicket to fall as he was trapped in-front by Axar Patel.

And, just as India were starting to look concerned about the flow of runs, captain Rohit Sharma pulled off a blinder to catch Ollie Pope for 23 from 21 balls off Ashwin.

Joe Root came out and played a hyper-aggressive innings, departing for 16 from just ten balls as he went for one big shot too many, skying a catch off Ashwin to Axar.

England rebuilt well through the second hour of the session, but two huge wickets at the end of the session have India in the driver’s seat in this Test.

The outstanding Crawley had to go for 73 from 132 balls when India opted to review an lbw shout and DRS said the ball would have gone on to hit leg stump – a prediction that the England camp didn’t seem too convinced about.

And Jonny Bairstow fell just before lunch, trapped on the pads by Jasprit Bumrah and forced to go on umpire’s call.

Ben Foakes will join his captain Ben Stokes out in the middle after lunch, with England still needing 205 runs to pull off a second historic win in this series.

It’s a tall ask and then some, but you never know.

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India in charge after first session

England six down and 205 runs behind; Ashwin picks up big wickets

It was India’s morning, and they confirmed that with two huge wickets late in the session to leave England needing something miraculous to save the fourth Test.

No team has ever chased down a fourth-innings target as large as the 399 that England need, and it was clear to see why as the ball turned and bounced for the spinners throughout the session.

Runs flowed throughout the morning though, with Zak Crawley leading the charge with his 73.

And all the England batters made starts, which will be a slight frustration for the team as they look back on a session that had India nervous at times.

It’s India’s game to lose from here, with the home side requiring four more wickets to leave the series at 1-1.

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TNT Sports is the new official broadcast home of England men’s tours of India in 2024, 2025 and 2028.

TNT Sports has also agreed a deal to show exclusive live coverage of every red-ball and white-ball international series played in India for the next five years.

England’s five-Test tour of India, starting on Thursday 25 January, will be broadcast live on TNT Sports and discovery+TNT Sports will broadcast England’s white ball tour (3 x ODIs and 5 x T20s) of India in January-February 2025TNT Sports will broadcast England’s tour of India, currently scheduled for January-February 2028.WICKET! England 194-6 (Stokes 0) Overs: 42.4

England require 205 runs to win

Is that game over? Quite probably.

Bairstow reviews as Bumrah raps him on the pad and the finger goes up. It strikes him high on the back pad and DRS has it clipping the top of leg stump.

Five wickets in the session and India’s nerves have evaporated. They’ve got this game in the palm of their hand, and that’s lunch.

WICKET! England 194-5 (Bairstow 26, Stokes 0) Overs: 42

England require 205 runs to win

Zak Crawley lbw to Kuldeep Yadav for 73 (132b)

It’s another bowling change late in the session and a first sight of Kuldeep Yadav today. He’s bowled quite beautifully in this Test so it’s a bit of a surprise that he’s been held back for so long.

There’s a big shout for lbw against Crawley, who drops back and misses with a defensive shot. Rohit opts to review after a lengthy discussion and it’s three reds, just impacting enough on leg – Crawley has to go! That’s a huge breakthrough for England.

The camera pans to the England balcony, where James Anderson and Joe Root are staring at that replay and trying to work out how DRS has that hitting leg stump. The coaching team are seen discussing the same thing. It’s a big blow for England.

England 192-4 (Crawley 72, Bairstow 25) Overs: 41

England require 207 runs to win

Lunch isn’t far away and India bring back their strike bowler Bumrah for a burst before the interval.

The ball is 40 overs old – can he find reverse swing? It was during this period in the first innings where he became essentially unplayable, and India will be hoping for a repeat to snuff out any lingering England hopes.

He starts well, but sends one down a bit full and Bairstow leans into a drive that should really be stopped in the ring but runs away for four.

And Bairstow finishes the over with a lovely shot, cut square for four more.

England 184-4 (Crawley 72, Bairstow 17) Overs: 40

England require 215 runs to win

Axar goes again and it’s a maiden for the big spinner.

England 184-4 (Crawley 72, Bairstow 17) Overs: 39

England require 215 runs to win

Still the runs flow for England, despite the loss of those three wickets.

Crawley comes down the track to Ashwin and drives him like a lazer through mid-off. And Bairstow adds a boundary of his own with a drive through the covers.

England 175-4 (Crawley 67, Bairstow 13) Overs: 38

England require 224 runs to win

The lengthy Axar spell continues and he gets one to rip past the outside edge of Crawley’s bat. One run comes from an excellent over, with the pitch really starting to offer some significant turn and bounce.

England 174-4 (Crawley 66, Bairstow 13) Overs: 37

England require 225 runs to win

Ashwin continues, looking to just an exclusive club with 500 Test wickets to his name. Only four spinners in the history of the game have reached that tally – Muthiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble and Nathan Lyon.

But he’ll be frustrated by the last ball of an over that Bairstow sweeps for four.

England 167-4 (Crawley 63, Bairstow 9) Overs: 36

England require 232 runs to win

Axar gets one to keep low and Bairstow does well to dig it out. One more run is added to the total from the over.

England 166-4 (Crawley 62, Bairstow 9) Overs: 35

England require 233 runs to win

KS Bharat thinks he’s pulled off a stumping to remove Crawley, but it goes upstairs and the big right-hander has just managed to keep his foot grounded so survives. His foot actually comes up moments after the bails are removed, so that’s a stroke of luck for England’s opener.

Ashwin’s the bowler causing the big problems for England right now, and he almost gets Crawley again as he edges just wide of short leg.

Just one comes from the over but the quality of India’s attack is really testing England here. There’s a reason why nobody has ever chased down a total this big in Indian conditions.

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England 165-4 (Crawley 61, Bairstow 9) Overs: 34

England require 234 runs to win

England need a partnership here, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to stop playing shots, and Bairstow drives beautifully to put Axar away for four.

The bowler fires back with a turner that beats the outside edge next ball.

England 156-4 (Crawley 60, Bairstow 1) Overs: 33

England require 243 runs to win

It’s a maiden for Ashwin, who is one wicket away from his 500th in Test cricket.

England 156-4 (Crawley 60, Bairstow 1) Overs: 32

England require 243 runs to win

The original Bazball batting superstar Jonny Bairstow is out in the middle with Crawley, with a rebuild required.

They take two off Axar’s latest over.

WICKET! England 154-4 (Crawley 59, Bairstow 0) Overs: 31

England require 245 runs to win

Joe Root caught by Axar Patel bowled Ravichandran Ashwin for 16 (10b)

What an odd innings from Joe Root. Is he more significantly injured than we thought? Or has he just attacked too much?

He looks to heave Ashwin away for six into the leg side and top-edges a skier that Axar Patel catches. England are on the ropes now, it’s a long way to get to 399 from here.

England 149-3 (Crawley 55, Root 15) Overs: 30

England require 250 runs to win

Root has come out with huge attacking intent and he charges Axar and unleashes a big drive that flies over long-off and all the way for six.

Axar almost gets his man off the last ball of the over, reviewing an lbw that catches Root pad first, but the decision was not out and the England batter survives on DRS thanks to umpire’s call on impact.

WICKET! England 140-3 (Crawley 53, Root 8) Overs: 29

England require 259 runs to win

Ollie Pope caught by Rohit Sharma bowled Ravichandran Ashwin for 23 (21b)

India get the wicket that they so wanted to halt the England momentum and it’s a brilliant catch from Rohit at first slip to remove Pope.

The India skipper throws up his left hand to grab an edge as Pope looks to cut Ashwin off the back foot, and he holds on.

The players take drinks with Joe Root heading out to the crease.

England are three down and they still have a long way to go, but Root starts with a bang, reverse-sweeping twice for four in his first three balls, with the second giving some hope to Rohit at slip but racing away to the boundary.

England 132-2 (Crawley 53, Pope 23) Overs: 28

England require 267 runs to win

Axar is kept on and Pope shimmies down to one and drives to the long-on boundary, just beating the fielder on the rope.

India’s faces suggest that Sir Alastair Cook was right… they are a bit ‘scared’ of Bazball.

It’s incredible really that India are concerned about this situation, with so many runs still to get in a chase that would break all records. But it’s clear that they are a bit worried.

England 126-2 (Crawley 52, Pope 18) Overs: 27

England require 273 runs to win

England did well to get through that testing first spell from Bumrah, and they will undoubtedly have more challenges against India’s strike bowler later in the day, especially if there’s any sign of reverse swing.

Spin at both ends continues, and the dangerous Ashwin yields just one single from a tidy over.

FIFTY! England 125-2 (Crawley 51, Pope 18) Overs: 26

England require 274 runs to win

Axar continues and so does the flow of runs for England.

Crawley brings up his half century with a lovely shot, lofting the left-armer back over his head and away to the boundary.

And Pope gets in on the act with a sweep to the role and a glance to the fine leg boundary, as 13 runs come off the over.

England 112-2 (Crawley 46, Pope 10) Overs: 25

England require 287 runs to win

Ravichandran Ashwin gets a first bowl of the day and his first over is an entertaining one.

Pope comes down the trick and doesn’t control a drive, squirting it in the air and wide of midwicket.

And Ashwin is convinced he’s got Pope next up, getting one to bounce and beating a reverse-sweeping Pope. It looks like it catches something and is superbly caught by Bharat, but Rohit opts against the review and wisely so. Replays show that the ball didn’t take an edge or glove.

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England 109-2 (Crawley 45, Pope 8) Overs: 24

England require 290 runs to win

England haven’t used the sweep as much in this Test, but Pope does get the reverse-sweep out of the bag and plays it well, angling Axar away for four more.

England 105-2 (Crawley 45, Pope 4) Overs: 23

England require 294 runs to win

The 100 comes up for England with a nudge into the leg side by Crawley for two off Bumrah, which also brings the required runs down under 300.

That target of 399 is still an extremely long way off, especially on a worn pitch against an attacking of this quality. But England will be happy enough with the start they’ve made to this fourth-innings effort.

Crawley reads one that swings back into the pads and he plays a beautiful shot through midwicket and all the way for four.

Bumrah beats the outside edge with the last ball of the over and comes down the pitch for a bit of a word with the England batter.

WICKET! England 99-2 (Crawley 39, Pope 4) Overs: 22

England require 300 runs to win

Rehan Ahmed lbw to Axar Patel for 23 (31b)

There’s a life for Rehan, as Axar gets one to grip and turn and a thick edge offers a chance to a diving Rohit at first slip. He gets fingertips to what would have been a superb catch, but can’t take it and the ball runs away the boundary.

But Axar does get his man, and it’s so plumb that Rehan starts to leave the crease almost before the finger goes up. He rocks back looking to whip one through the leg side, misses the ball, and is hit straight in-front. Rehan’s 23-run effort up the order comes to an end and India have their breakthrough.

Replays suggest that might have been pretty close on impact, but it felt out and Rehan wasn’t about to risk burning a review in such a scenario. Television says it would have been umpire’s call on impact, so Rehan would have had to go anyway.

Ollie Pope is the new batter and starts in style, driving a loose Axar delivery away through the covers for four.

The tall task facing England

England need to reach 399 if they are to win this second Test, with nine wickets in hand and 91 of those runs already knocked off.

If they were to do it then it would be the highest successful fourth-innings run-chase by any team ever in Indian conditions.

To put it in further context, no visiting team has got within 100 runs of such a target.

England 91-1 (Crawley 39, Rehan 19) Overs: 21

England require 308 runs to win

Bumrah searches for a yorker and spears one down leg side, which curves out of the reach of the keeper and away for four byes.

And Crawley draws a burst from the Barmy Army’s trumpet when he leans into one of those trademark drives, timing it beautifully down the ground to put Bumrah away for four more.

Eight runs come from the over.

England 83-1 (Crawley 35, Rehan 19) Overs: 20

England require 316 runs to win

It’s been a steady start to the day for England and Crawley prods Axar to mid-off for a single to keep the scoreboard steadily ticking over.

England 82-1 (Crawley 34, Rehan 19) Overs: 19

England require 317 runs to win

Bumrah gets a real crack at Rehan, which is the scenario India would have been hoping for this morning, and he has him in trouble straight away as he probes the line outside off stump, finding an edge that drops short of gully.

He’s getting the ball to talk this morning, and a big seaming delivery suggests there’s going to be some movement on offer all day from the cracks on this ageing pitch.

But young Rehan survives and it’s another maiden for Bumrah.

England 82-1 (Crawley 34, Rehan 19) Overs: 18

England require 317 runs to win

Rehan goes on the attack against Axar, swiping him away into the leg side for a boundary off the first ball of the over.

And he follows it up by drilling an over-pitched ball to the rope before knocking a single to get off strike.

His captain looks very happy with this from Rehan, as he watches on from the balcony.

England 73-1 (Crawley 34, Rehan 10) Overs: 17

England require 326 runs to win

Bumrah continues and beats Crawley twice in the over. He really is a phenomenal bowler, the best Test quick in the world.

But Crawley gets in a counter-punch as he creams a drive through the covers to finish the over with a beauty of a boundary.

England 69-1 (Crawley 30, Rehan 10) Overs: 16

England require 330 runs to win

It’s Axar Patel who takes the ball at the other end to start the day, with Rehan Ahmed, promoted up to number three as the ‘nighthawk’ on strike.

He’s going to play shots early on, that’s his role here, and he almost lofts a catch straight to mid-on first all.

But a punch to cover gets him going in the session with a single, and Crawley follows suit.

Sir Alastair Cook: India are scared of Bazball

TNT Pundit and former England captain Sir Alastair Cook spoke of his surprise at India’s caution on day three, saying it showed that they fear England.

“This is the effect of Bazball,” Cook said, in conversation with Kate Mason and Steven Finn in the TNT Sports studio.

“I think we saw the effect in the last session there. I can’t remember an Indian side, ever, with last four or five overs to go, not having anyone around the bat to their spinners.

“Not to have a short leg or a silly point, it’s almost mind-boggling, the effect this has had on the opposition.

“No other side has got anywhere near this (target) on the subcontinent.

We’re talking about it as if there is a small possibility only because of what Ben Stokes has drilled into this side and what this side has done.“Because of that impact that Stokes and this England team have had on world cricket, sides are so scared of the runs that they’re scoring, they’re not doing it. England are having it easy.”

England 67-1 (Crawley 29, Rehan 9) Overs: 15

England require 332 runs to win

There’s a hint of moisture in the air, as there tends to be in the first hour in Vizag. Anderson took advantage of those conditions with a beautiful spell early on yesterday, and unsurprisingly it’s Bumrah who opens things up for India today.

Crawley blocks him out for a maiden, only having to play one ball.

Confident messaging is the key

England were making all the right noises ahead of today’s play, despite being faced with a fourth-innings target that no team in history has ever chased in India. Here’s what James Anderson had to say about the state of the game yesterday:

“We feel we’re running the game,” Anderson told TNT Sports.

We got sat down by the coach last night and he said if India get 600 ahead we’re going to try to chase it down. That’s exactly what we’re going to do.And he doubled down on the messaging in his press conference after yesterday’s play, saying:

I know there’s 180 overs left in the game, but we’ll try and do it in 60 or 70.04:00 – Watch this series LIVE on TNT Sports

The players are out in the middle and we’re ready for a fourth day that should provide plenty of entertainment whichever way the momentum swings.

TNT Sports have the rights to broadcast this full series in the UK, so tune in to TNT Sports and discovery+ right now to watch the start of the day’s play.

03:55 – England still confident despite record target

England will resume on 67-1, still needing 332 to win this second Test on a wearing pitch against one of the world’s best bowling attacks.

The only reason so many people think this game is still live is because of what Bazball England have done in the last couple of years.

But they are certainly making confident noises head of day four, and if they win it from here it will surely eclipse last week’s win in Hyderabad as the best of the Ben Stokes era, and one of the best in England’s history.

03:50 – Hello and welcome

Good morning and welcome to live updates of day four of the second Test between India and England in Visakhapatnam.

We’ll bring you over-by-over coverage of the day’s play, with live coverage also available on TNT Sports and discovery+ throughout the morning.

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