Dawson returns after 8 years to take a key wicket for England as India 149-3 at tea in 4th test

MANCHESTER, England (AP) – Spinner Liam Dawson claimed his first test wicket in eight years after making his England comeback against India on Wednesday.

Dawson was recalled for the fourth test at Old Trafford after Shoaib Bashir was ruled out with a broken finger and was pivotal in a strong second session, which saw England take three wickets and India go to tea at 149-3.

In his first test since 2017, Dawson forced an edge from Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) that was caught low by slip fielder Harry Brook as England began to find a way through India’s top order.

The visitors had lost the toss on an overcast day in Manchester and were put into bat, but the opening partnership of KL Rahul and Jaiswal frustrated the hosts, reaching 78-0 at lunch.

Rahul (46) was caught by Zak Crawley off Chris Woakes early after lunch for 94-1.

And there were more cheers around the stadium when Jaiswal’s innings, which included his 1,000th run against England, was ended by Dawson to put India at 120-2. Dawson, whose previous test appearance was against South Africa in 2017, struck in the second over of his return.

Shubman Gill, the top run scorer so far in the series, had only 12 on the board before being trapped leg before wicket by England captain Ben Stokes, leaving India on 140-3.

India lost the toss for the 14th time in a row in an international match and Stokes opted to bowl.

“There’s pretty decent overhead conditions for bowling so that’s what we’re going to do,” Stokes said.

India didn’t mind batting first.

“The surface looks good, so a good toss to lose … Nice and hard,” Gill said. “I think we have been playing well in the last few matches. The small moments we have lost but apart from that, a number of sessions we have won more than them which is a positive for us.”

England won a heated third test at Lord’s by 22 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Gill said Tuesday that England had acted against the “spirit of the game” by delaying play at Lord’s. Gill was not happy about England batters Ben Duckett and Crawley being late to the crease on the third day of the test.