After the mature, pragmatic climb to a match-winning first innings total at Lord’s came the return of England’s natural, more freewheeling rhythms. Wickets tumbled, runs flowed and a raucous second day in Manchester ended with the hosts in the ascendancy.
It began with a successful dousing of India’s lower order either side of lunch as the second new ball moved lavishly under cloud cover. Ben Stokes claimed his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket for eight years, Jofra Archer furthered optimism about his comeback with three, and the tourists were rolled for 358 in 114.1 overs. Rishabh Pant bravely emerged with his fractured foot but 17 more runs was all he could muster.
