After four exciting days of cricket, the fourth Test between India and England in Manchester has now reached its business end. England have continued their good form from the Lord's Test and have thoroughly dominated the visitors in the first four days at Manchester.
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England is on the brink of yet another Test victory against India. After restricting India to 358, England took a massive first-innings lead of 311 runs, and one man who has been lethal for the hosts is their skipper, Ben Stokes.
In a dramatic turn of Events, Stokes suffered a hamstring injury while batting on Day 3, which can now have a huge impact on the game ahead of the start of the final day's play.
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Latest update on Ben Stokes' injury on Day 5
Stokes has been all over Team India with the bat and the ball in this series. His inspirational performances at Lord's helped his side to achieve a thrilling victory and take a 2-1 lead in the series.
However, he retired hurt when batting at 66 on Day 3 of the ongoing Old Trafford Test. England's management stated that it was only cramps.
He later came to bat on Day 4 and even scored a magnificent ton (141 runs), but hasn't managed to play any role with the ball in hand. Instead, he was seen clutching his hamstrings in the outfield.
"We are waiting to see. He is obviously stiff and sore," England's assistant coach Marcus Trescothick told BBC Sport. "He has had a big workload in the last few weeks and obviously again in this game, and had a bit of cramp while he was batting, mainly yesterday."
"I think we are still hopeful that he will be better tomorrow once we come back out and be a bit loose and ready to go again, but we will assess it overnight and see what happens," he added. "Let's keep our fingers crossed. He’ll get a massage tonight and good rest and hopefully come out strong tomorrow."
The English skipper was seen bowling during warm-ups ahead of the fifth day in Manchester, which now comes as a huge positive for the hosts. A fully fit Stokes with the ball can create a lot of trouble for India as they try to save the Test.
Good news for England fans ‼️
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 27, 2025
Ben Stokes has been bowling in the warm-up 🏴 pic.twitter.com/ppjmC2loaF
How did Ben Stokes' absence affect England on Day 4 vs India?
Stokes' absence with the ball hurt England big time on Day 4. After India were reduced to 0 for 2 in the first over, the home side conceded a 174-run stand between KL Rahul and Shubman Gill, who went unbeaten at the end of the day's play.
So far, he is also the leading wicket-taker in the series with 16 wickets. Stokes also grabbed a fifer in the first innings of this Test, which helped England restrict India below 400.
Ben Stokes bowling stats - Anderson-Tendulkar trophy 2025:
| Matches | Innings | Overs | Wickets | Average | BBI | 5's |
| 4 | 7 | 129.0 | 16 | 24.75 | 5/72 | 1 |
With England requiring eight wickets to inflict an innings defeat over India on the Final day, Ben Stokes' availability with the ball could play a significant role.