Crawley and Duckett lead England recovery after Pant's Old Trafford heroics

MANCHESTER, England :A superb 166-run opening partnership between Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett lead England's recovery on day two of the fourth test against India, the hosts 225-2 at the close of play on Thursday, trailing the tourists by 133 runs.

A gutsy half century from the injured Rishabh Pant helped India post 358 in their first innings, with England captain Ben Stokes' first five-wicket test haul in eight years helping see off the tourists' tail.

Crawley and Duckett moved at a rapid rate before tea to eat into India's total as England's reply got under way, but neither could convert their impressive starts into centuries, the pair falling for 84 and 94 respectively in the evening session.

Joe Root and Ollie Pope survived several close calls to see England through to the close, putting the hosts in with a chance of sealing victory in the five-match series with one test to spare.