Arizona Tribune - England see off record-breaker Gill as they push for India series win

The India duo had rescued the tourists from the dire position of 0-2 with a stand of 188 after Chris Woakes struck twice in the first over of their second innings.

But both batsmen fell in quick succession on Sunday's last day, with the injured Stokes once more defying the pain barrier to remove Rahul for 90.

Fast bowler Jofra Archer then ended Gill's fourth century of a sensational debut series as India captain when he had the 25-year-old, in on a hat-trick, caught behind off a careless flick shortly before lunch for a marathon 103 made in some seven hours.

India's 222-4 could have been 222-5 next ball when Ravindra Jadeja edged a fiery Archer delivery to first slip where a leaping Joe Root could not cling on to a catch above his head and failed to grab the ball at the second attempt.

India, already 2-1 down in this five-match series, were 233-4 at lunch -- still 88 runs behind England's mammoth first-innings 669.

They resumed on 174-2 with Rahul 87 not out and Gill 78 not out after being dropped on 46.

The match had already been a personal triumph for Stokes after he became just the fourth England cricketer to score a hundred and take five wickets in the same Test, with his 141 on Saturday following a return of 5-72 in India's first-innings 358.

But Stokes, who suffered from cramp while batting, did not bowl at all during the 63 overs India faced on Saturday.

Stokes was also seen repeatedly clutching the top of his leg, having had surgery on his left hamstring at the start of this year.

But Stokes brought himself on to bowl at the start of Sunday's play.

Already the leading bowler on either side this series with 16 wickets at 24.75, Stokes almost had Gill caught for 81 by a leaping Ollie Pope at short cover.

But Stokes did separate the stubborn third-wicket duo when he had Rahul, in sight of his third century of the series, plumb lbw with a nip-back ball that kept a touch low.

- Gill record -

Fast-medium bowler Stokes, still grabbing the top of his left leg on occasion as well as his right shoulder, then defied a docile pitch to produce a spiteful delivery that rapped Gill, then on 90, on the thumb before deflecting into the side of the batsman's helmet.

Stokes bowled an unchanged spell of 1-12 in eight overs until the advent of the new ball, with India 198-3 off 80 overs.

Woakes took up the attack but was powerless to prevent the single that took Gill to a 228-ball century including 12 fours.

But then came his dismissal, with Gill now having set a new record for the most runs scored by an India batsman in a series against England of 722, surpassing team-mate Yashasvi Jaiswal's 712 in 2023/24.

A.Moore--AT