Rishabh Pant and Shardul Thakur knock stuffing out of England on fourth day

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England had the stuffing knocked out of them on the fourth afternoon of the fourth LV= Insurance Test, with a century stand between Rishabh Pant and Shardul Thakur leaving India sitting on a heavy lead of 346.

When Moeen Ali had Virat Kohli caught behind to leave India 312 for six in the morning session, the game was on a knife edge with the tourists 213 ahead.

A couple more quick wickets might even have left England as slight favourites, but instead they fell flat as Pant (50) and Thakur (60) piled on exactly 100 in 155 morale-sapping balls.

England's Moeen Ali celebrates taking the wicket of India's Virat Kohli
England’s Moeen Ali celebrates taking the wicket of India’s Virat Kohli (Adam Davy/PA)

At tea the scoreboard had raced along to 445 for eight, meaning a mammoth fourth-innings chase awaited.

In the hottest conditions of the week, England buckled as their opponents thrived. James Anderson and Ollie Robinson added more and more to their wearying workloads but had the look of men who had been asked to give too much.

In the end it was spin that did the trick, Joe Root finding Thakur’s edge with his part-timers before Pant was caught and bowled by Moeen Ali.

Even then they had not broken the back of the India rearguard, with Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah playing freely as they topped the total up by another 31 before the break.

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