Old Trafford Test | Crawley, Duckett make merry after Stokes’ five-for

The Old Trafford has witnessed some of Indian cricket’s memorable and heartbreaking moments.

In 1990, a young Sachin Tendulkar scored his maiden Test century here, whereas in 2019, India’s hopes of making it to the ODI World Cup final were dashed as it went down to New Zealand in a rain-interrupted semifinal.

On Thursday (July 24, 2025), a story of grit and determination was written at the iconic venue as Rishabh Pant (54, 75b, 3×4, 2×6) batted with a fractured foot, brought up his 18th Test fifty and guided India to 358 in its first innings. However, England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett turned up the heat on the visitors, guiding the team to 225 for two.

The two backed up their captain Ben Stokes’ five-for — his first since September, 2017 — with a partnership of 166 as the Indian bowlers toiled hard.

Although neither Crawley (84, 113b, 13×4, 1×6) nor Duckett (94,100b, 13×4) could go on to a century, they laid the foundation as the Indian seamers could extract little from the surface.

The expectations were high with Jasprit Bumrah leading the pack, but erring line and length meant India was poor with the new ball. Anshul Kamboj, making his debut, was visibly under pressure as he conceded three fours in his opening over, while trying to target Duckett’s pads.

While Bumrah kept Crawley on his toes, mixing the away-going and incoming deliveries perfectly, his plan to target Duckett on the pads did not yield the desired results as he went for a few boundaries.

Crawley glanced Mohammed Siraj for his first boundary and followed it up with another through the cover. The England batters capitalised on the loose balls and brought up the 50 in just 11 overs.

As both Crawley and Duckett looked set for three figures, India struck. Crawley fell to Jadeja at first slip, while Kamboj claimed his first wicket as Duckett was caught behind. But with Ollie Pope and Joe Root around, England avoided further loss.

Earlier, Pant was the centre of attention. Having retired hurt on 37 on the opening day due to a foot fracture, not many expected Pant to turn up. But with India at 314 for six, having lost Shardul Thakur, who played a fighting knock, before lunch, Pant limped his way to the middle.

He was visibly in pain and discomfort, and struggled to run. But he stuck around with Washington Sundar to ensure there were no further dents in the rain-curtailed pre-lunch session.

As Stokes and Archer continued to find movement, it posed a challenge for Pant and Washington. Stokes struck as Washington was caught at fine-leg while attempting a pull. Stokes claimed his five-for in the same over as Kamboj was caught behind for a duck.

Pant brought up his fifty with a boundary through the covers, before being bowled by Archer.

India lost its last four wickets for 21 runs. Stokes finished with figures of five for 72 while Archer claimed three for 73.