On Day 3 of the India vs England fourth Test at Old Trafford, India’s captain Shubman Gill made a tactical bowling change that paid immediate dividends. Introducing Washington Sundar around mid-morning brought the breakthrough the team desperately needed. Sundar dismissed Ollie Pope for 71, ending a commanding unbeaten opening stand and injecting much‑needed momentum into India’s bowling attack.

England’s Joe Root and Ollie Pope had amassed a 135‑run partnership, reducing India’s first‑innings lead to a mere 26 runs at lunch on 332/2. Root registered his 104th Test fifty, moving past Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis to become the third‑highest run‑scorer in Test history.

Earlier, India finished Day 2 at 358 all‑out, with contributions from Shardul Thakur and a battling Washington Sundar, alongside heroics from Rishabh Pant despite his leg injury.

Despite the flat pitch favoring batsmen, Gill’s bold decision to bowl Sundar made it clear: India still managed to hold a sliver of strategic upper hand. The lead remains slim, but the psychological shift could be pivotal as the match teeters on a knife-edge.