Watch: Shreyas Iyer runs out Ben Stokes with a scintillating direct hit

England’s slim hopes of winning the ongoing second Test against India in Vishakhapatnam took a huge blow when their captain Ben Stokes was run out on day four. Shreyas Iyer came up with a brilliant effort on the field to send back the England captain and put India in firm command of the game.

Chasing an improbable target of 399 runs, England began the penultimate day of the Test on 67 for 1. Rehan Ahmed and Zak Crawley made a promising start, adding 28 runs to the overnight score before Axar Patel dismissed the night watchman. The likes of Ollie Pope and Joe Root made quick starts but could not last long as England found themselves 4 down for 154.

At the other end, Crawley completed his fifty and steadied the ship by adding 40 runs with Jonny Bairstow before both of them departed in quick succession. Kuldeep Yadav broke the stand by dismissing Crawley for 73. And even before England could add any run to their score, Jasprit Bumrah struck to remove Bairstow and reduce the tourists to 194 for 6 at lunch.

Ben Stokes departs:

Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes started the proceedings after lunch and made a cautious start. They took the score past the 200-run mark. However, just when it looked like they had their eyes set and could trouble India, Shreyas Iyer broke the stand by coming up with a brilliant effort on the field.

On the fourth ball of the 53rd over, Foakes inside-edged a Ravichandran Ashwin delivery towards square leg. Both the batsmen decided to take a quick single although there was slight hesitation and it proved very costly. Before Ben Stokes could get inside the crease safely, Iyer came charging in from mid-wicket, picked the ball with one hand, and hit the bullseye.

Watch:

pic.twitter.com/gOtdMRBkIw

— Kirkit Expert (@expert42983) February 5, 2024

At the time of writing this report, England were on 220 for 7 with Foakes and Tom Hartley fighting it out in the middle for the tourists. Earlier in the game, India scored 396 runs in their first innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal’s double century leading their charge with the bat. In reply, England were bowled out for 253 runs. In the second innings, India were all out for 255. The visitors are currently leading the series after winning the first Test by 28 runs.