Dark visions of a Day Four finish loomed at Old Trafford on Saturday when India, trailing by 311, lost two second-innings wickets off as many deliveries in the first over, from Chris Woakes. Old pro KL Rahul (87 not out) and young captain Shubman Gill (78 not out) then steadied the ship with an unbeaten 174-run stand to somewhat offset the dismissals of left-handers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan, both caught in the slip cordon, and ensured that the visitors lived to fight another day. At stumps, India were 174-2. 

All-round show by Stokes

Before Woakes’s two-in-two, Ben Stokes scripted another glorious chapter in a stirring career, becoming only the fourth Englishman to take five wickets and score a century in the same game to put his side in complete control of the fourth Test. Overnight 77 — he had retired hurt with cramps in his left leg when 66 before returning to bat late on the third evening — England’s exceptional leader ended a two-year wait for a Test hundred with a chanceless 141 that only ended because he was on the lookout for quick runs. 

England captain Ben Stokes celebrates his century on Saturday