MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Spinner Liam Dawson claimed his first test wicket in eight years after making his England return against India on Wednesday.
The 35-year-old Dawson was recalled for the fourth test after Shoaib Bashir was ruled out with a broken finger and was pivotal in a strong second session, which saw England take three of its four wickets on the opening day at Old Trafford.
“It was nice to contribute to the team early on. I’ve said to a few people at the age I’m at, I probably thought that test cricket was gone,” Dawson said. “To be back involved is really cool. I’ve got to try to enjoy each moment I get."
India ended the day 264-4 and had to play out much of the evening session without Rishabh Pant, who retired hurt with an injured foot, raising doubts over whether he can continue in the series.
“He was in a lot of pain, definitely. They have gone for scans and we will probably get to know (how serious it is) tomorrow,” India's Sai Sudharsan said. “He was batting really well today.... it will definitely have consequences (if he is ruled out).”
England was looking to close out the five-match series — taking a 2-1 lead into the match in Manchester. But after captain Ben Stokes won the toss and opted bowl, the hosts were frustrated as India reached 78-0 at lunch through the partnership of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
England's best session came after lunch, with Rahul (46) caught by Zak Crawley off Chris Woakes for 94-1.
There were more cheers soon after when Dawson forced an edge from Jaiswal (58) that was caught low by slip fielder Harry Brook to put India at 120-2. It was Dawson's first test since playing South Africa in 2017 and the wicket came on the second over of his return.
“To get that wicket was a nice relief coming back into it. It’s one wicket. I’ve done nothing special,” Dawson said.
Shubman Gill, the top run scorer so far in the series, had only 12 on the board before being trapped leg before wicket by England captain Ben Stokes, leaving India on 140-3.
Risky move by Stokes
Stokes gambled by opting to bowl after winning the toss.
According to ESPN Cricinfo, no team had won a test match at Old Trafford after choosing to bowl first.
“There’s pretty decent overhead conditions for bowling so that’s what we’re going to do,” Stokes said after India had lost the toss for the 14th time in a row in an international match.
But that decision began to look questionable as Rahul and Jaiswal withstood England pressure before lunch.
Jaiswal’s innings included his 1,000th run against England before he eventually fell to Dawson and India went to tea at 149-3.
Injury concerns for Pant
India steadied itself well for the evening session, with Pant building a strong partnership with Sudharsan.
But that was put to an end when Pant (37) retired hurt after attempting a reverse sweep off Woakes and the ball deflected onto his right ankle and foot.
England unsuccessfully appealed for lbw, and Pant was left in pain on the field. He left on a cart. Closeups of his foot showed swelling.
Pant was replaced by Ravindra Jadeja with India on 212-3.
England took its fourth wicket when Sudharsan (61) was caught by Brydon Carse off Stokes.
Play ended early because of dimming light.
Tensions easing
There was no sign of the tensions that had been a feature in the heated third test which England won at Lord’s by 22 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Gill said Tuesday that England had acted against the “spirit of the game” by delaying play at Lord’s. Gill was not happy about England batters Ben Duckett and Crawley being late to the crease on the third day of the test.
There were jeers from the crowd as Gill made his way to crease and loud cheers when he was dismissed for just 12.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
James Robson, The Associated Press
