Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett stunned India with another mighty opening stand after England captain Ben Stokes ' first five-wicket haul in Tests since September 2017.

It was a battle of wills and wants on a final day where both teams danced on knife-edge. And it couldn't have set up the next two Tests better | ESPN.com

By Peter Hall MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -England struggled to trouble India's openers after putting the touring side in to bat in the fourth test at Old Trafford on Wednesday, as they cruised through to lunch on 78-0.

Ben Stokes stars with the ball before an excellent batting performance from Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley gives England control of the fourth Test against India, with the home side closing day two on 225-2 at Old Trafford,

A gutsy half century from the injured Rishabh Pant helped India post 358 in their first innings, with England captain Ben Stokes' first five-wicket test haul in eight years boosting his team's bid to clinch the series.

A mammoth 166-run partnership between openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley helped England to score 225 runs for the loss of two wickets at the end of the play on the second day against India in the ongoing fourth Test of the five-match series at Old Trafford in Manchester on Thursday.