Shubman Gill and KL Rahul stitch up India’s greatest-ever Test partnership in England
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Indian batters KL Rahul and Shubman Gill played 421 balls in their partnership, which lasted throughout Day 4 after the fall of two early wickets in the Indian innings.
India was already trailing 2-1 in the series before they arrived in Manchester for the upcoming Test. The fourth Test marked the Indians in a do-or-die state, where they either win the Manchester Test or at least draw it to keep their hopes alive in the series.
Going into such a crucial Test, India made some obvious changes to their 11, which also included a debutant. However, after India collapsed in the first innings, the English batters played a major role as they posted a huge 669 runs while taking forward a lead of 311.
Indian batters play a promising hand
The Indian innings had seen a major dip in the first innings, since the Manchester pitch looked very different from its usual nature, which largely favours the bowlers.
However, despite winning the toss, English skipper Ben Stokes opted to bowl first and bowled out the Shubman Gill-led Indian side for a score of 358, which did not look sufficient by the standards of the pitch as well as the game.
England got off to a stunning start, as both their openers neared terrific hundreds before being dismissed for 80s and 90s. English batter Joe Root broke one record after the other with another stunning 150, while skipper Stokes scored his first Test hundred after a gap of more than two years.
England took a huge 311-run lead in front of the Indian batters. Chris Woakes dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan in the very first over of the second innings, and India looked in deep trouble.
However, KL Rahul, alongside skipper Shubman Gill, came to the rescue of the Indian team. Shubman Gill and Rahul played the most recorded deliveries in a Test partnership in England by any Indian batting pair.
KL Rahul- Shubman Gill at the top after Manchester Marvel
The Shubman Gill and KL Rahul batting partnership that began after the fall of two early wickets in the second innings at Old Trafford lasted for a record 421 balls before KL Rahul was dismissed by the English skipper for a score of 90.
This broke the long-standing third-wicket partnership between the two dynamic Indian batters. Before them, such a record against England in England was held by the Indian batting pair of Sanjay Bangar and Rahul Dravid back in 2002.
Indian pairs to face Most balls in England Test Inning
— 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒔 (@Shebas_10dulkar) July 27, 2025
417b - 𝗥𝗮𝗵𝘂𝗹/𝗚𝗶𝗹𝗹 (Manchester, 2025)*
405b - S Bangar/Dravid (Leeds, 2002)
357b - Sachin/Ganguly (Leeds, 2002)
312b - Vijay/Dhoni (Nottingham, 2014)#ENGvIND
Will Rishabh Pant bat at Manchester?
Indian left-handed batting star Rishabh Pant has been the third-highest run-getter in the series with 479 runs scored across the 7 innings he has played so far. This consists of 3 half-centuries and 2 iconic twin hundreds at Leeds.
However, the batter was injured on the opening day of the first Test and was ruled out before he came back with a fractured foot to bat for India on Day 2. Pant did not keep for the Indian bowling innings and has been ruled out of the final Test.
Despite all this, the batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, claimed yesterday in the post-match interview that Rishabh will bat at Manchester; however, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja have been sent before him, and Pant is yet to be seen in the second innings.
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