2nd test goes to last day, England leads West Indies by 219
Manchester: West Indies collapsed from 227-4 at tea to 287 all out in the final session on Day 4, narrowly avoiding having to follow on in the second cricket test against England on Sunday.
England was 37-2 in its second innings at stumps with a lead of 219 runs. Kemar Roach (2-14) claimed both wickets as the West Indies pacer bowled promoted opener Jos Buttler (0) and Zak Crawley (11).
Ben Stokes, who opened in a test match for the first time as England sought quick runs, is on 16 and Joe Root on 8.
Although not without any danger, an early declaration is expected Monday for England to have any chance of winning the three-test series.
West Indies took the opener by four wickets in Southampton, the first cricket test to be played since the global coronavirus outbreak.
Half-centuries by Kraigg Brathwaite (75) and Shamarh Brooks (68) had kept England at bay until the evening session. The game moved England's way when Stuart Broad trapped Brooks leg before wicket, bowled Jermaine Blackwood (0) and claimed Shane Dowrich (0) in another lbw dismissal as part of a fiery new ball spell.
Fast-medium Chris Woakes claimed the last three wickets, starting with West Indies captain Jason Holder (2). He was caught by his England counterpart Root as West Indies slumped to 260-8 in its first innings, still needing 10 runs to avoid the follow on after England's 469-9 declared.
But Roston Chase (51) hit Sam Curran (2-70) for a couple of boundaries to avoid his team having to follow on before he was the ninth batter out, leg before to Woakes.
Broad finished with 3-66 and Woakes 3-42.
England, seeking quick wickets to revive its hopes of victory after the entire third day was washed out by rain, had broken through just three times in the day's first two sessions.
Opener Brathwaite played a part in half-century stands with Alzarri Joseph (32), Shai Hope (25) and Brooks before falling caught and bowled to Stokes.
Curran's off-cutter dismissed Hope for 25 soon after lunch to give England a glimmer of hope it could take control of the second session. It didn't happen because of the application of Brathwaite and Brooks.
The home team's only breakthrough of the morning came when spinner Dom Bess had success with his second ball to remove Joseph.
West Indies had resumed on 32-1 in reply to England's first innings which saw 120 from opener Dom Sibley and 176 from Stokes.
But the weather on Saturday set England back and the West Indies batting was solid until tea on Sunday.
Joseph was caught one-handed at short leg by Ollie Pope off Bess for that first wicket before lunch. Curran tempted Hope outside off-stump and produced an edge behind to Buttler.
England tried the short-ball tactic after lunch and Stokes finally had some reward when Brathwaite went to flick one away to the legside and sent a leading edge back to the bowler.
The teams stay at Old Trafford for the third test, starting Friday.
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Heavy rain, hailstorms likely to lash Uttarakhand on Tuesday; IMD issues warning
Dehradun/Pithoragarh (PTI): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning for heavy rain and hailstorms across several districts of Uttarakhand on Tuesday, as temperatures remained markedly below normal in the region.
Heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places in Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar districts. Most places across all districts are expected to receive light to moderate rain or thunderstorms, while higher reaches are likely to witness snowfall, officials said on Monday.
The weather department warned of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hail and intense spells of rain in six districts, including Dehradun and Nainital. Gusty winds with speeds reaching 40-50 kmph are also expected at isolated locations in these areas and other hilly districts.
In the state capital, Dehradun, the sky is forecast to remain partly cloudy with light rain and thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds of 30-40 kmph.
The maximum and minimum temperatures in the city are expected to hover around 31 degrees Celsius and 19 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Maximum temperatures during the past 24 hours remained markedly below normal in the hills and appreciably below normal in the plains. While no significant change in temperature is expected over the next 2-3 days, the IMD predicts a rise of 3-5 degrees Celsius during the subsequent 3-4 days.
Rainfall was recorded in several areas after 8.30 am today, with Ramnagar receiving 31.5 mm and Nainital recording 26.5 mm. Other areas, including Pithoragarh, Khatima and Champawat, also reported moderate precipitation.
Authorities have stopped a batch of 36 Adi Kailash pilgrims at the Dharchula base camp and placed the high-altitude yatra route on high alert following heavy rains and hailstorms in the district on Monday.
Dharchula SDM Ashish Joshi said the pilgrimage was halted due to adverse weather conditions. The issuance of new inner-line passes has been suspended until the weather normalises.
With 1,700 passes issued so far, pilgrims already at higher camps are being monitored for safety, the official added.
