Lunch India 321 for 6 (Pant 39*, Washington 20*, Stokes 3-55) vs England
Rishabh Pant batted with a broken foot as India put a premium on first-innings runs, pushing their total up to 321 for 6 at lunch on the second day in Manchester.
England were upbeat when their captain Ben Stokes struck in the 102nd over to remove Shardul Thakur, who played a good hand, making 41 off 88. They would have thought they had a way into the tail. But it was Pant who came down the stairs, grabbing onto the railing, every step taken with extreme care. He had arrived at the ground in a moonboot. His courage was celebrated with applause ringing around Old Trafford.
Jofra Archer had provided the perfect start to the day's play for England when he dismissed Ravindra Jadeja in his first over. With the second new ball in hand, he and Chris Woakes created 12 wicket-taking opportunities in 12 overs but the ball would either just zip past the edge or take it and fall short of the cordon.
Thakur and Washington Sundar did well to weather those close calls, putting the one that caused them trouble out of their mind to focus on the next. They built a 48-run partnership for the sixth wicket as India continued to show lower-order resilience, having bulked up that part of their game since the first Test at Headingley.
A largely uneventful session was heading to a close until Pant decided to liven things up a bit. He looked in obvious discomfort, merely walking, and when he was hurried, hopping, through for his singles. A few minutes after he made the long walk out there, he had to make the long walk back as well with rain forcing an early lunch.