Rahul fifty takes India's lead past 150 after England strike early

Lunch India 471 and 153 for 3 (Rahul 72*, Pant 31*, Carse 2-39) lead England 465 by 159 runs

A slow session for India but a successful one. Though they only managed to add 63 runs during day four's morning session at Headingley, they survived 24.1 overs for the loss of just a single wicket. Even though it was their captain Shubman Gill who fell, a score of 153 for 3 and a lead of 159 has them in good shakes in the midst of a second-innings shootout in this first Test against England.

KL Rahul's dogged 72 not out, his 26th fifty-plus score in Tests, came amid a wave of outstanding bowling from England's quicks, and a few pings on the top hand administered by Ben Stokes, as this pitch shows further signs of irregular bounce.

Brydon Carse set the tone and the standard early with a six-over morning spell (1 for 12) from the Kirkstall Lane End that accounted for Gill. India's No. 4 skewed on to the base of his off stump after deviation from a length delivery found an inside edge as he attempted to play through gully.

That, however, was England's only success in a session littered with beaten outside edges. It should not have been, of course. Harry Brook, the beneficary of three lives in his innings of 99, repaid the favour with a drop at gully when Rahul, on 55, attempted a second consecutive guide to the deep-third boundary off Josh Tongue.

The strike was out of character from Rahul, who had shown great restraint with overcast, cooler conditions stacking the odds against the batters. By contrast, Rishabh Pant was his usual ball of chaos, charging Chris Woakes and skewing over the cordon from his second ball. He had done exactly the same in his first innings - charging Stokes second ball - but had made far better contact then.

It was truly a comical start from Pant, who had to be calmed down by Rahul after moving to 15 with a mow across the line for a fortuitous boundary off Carse, with Shoaib Bashir at fine leg, and Joe Root running back from the cordon, desperate to meet it before it hit the ground. Three deliveries later, Pant was subject to a voracious lbw appeal as he fell away to the off side attempting his patented fall-away ramp.

Umpire Paul Reiffel gave it not out and England's review proved him right, with an inside edge. But it was enough of a warning for Pant to control himself a little more. His next 16 runs came from 36 deliveries, as he and Rahul managed to get to the break with their stand intact on 61.