England remain "hopeful" that Ben Stokes will be fit enough to bowl on day five, after being deemed too "stiff and sore" to do so on Saturday.

Stokes suffered from cramp on day three and had to briefly exit the match while batting on Friday to receive treatment before going back out to the crease.

He went on to score his first Test century in over two years, as he was caught on 141 by Sai Sudharsan. Stokes has now scored 7,032 Test runs in his career, after scoring his third ton at Old Trafford.

Stokes was a standout during India's first innings, as he took a five-wicket haul, becoming the first England captain with a five-for in Tests on home soil since Bob Willis at Headingley in 1983 (versus New Zealand).

While England started strongly on the attack with Chris Woakes dismissing both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sudharsan for ducks, India fought back to reach 174-2 at stumps thanks to KL Rahul (87 not out) and Shubman Gill (78 not out).

Stokes has already bowled 129 overs, his personal record in a Test series, but assistant coach Marcus Trescothick is optimistic he will be able to join the attack on day five.

"He's a bit stiff and sore," Trescothick said when asked if Stokes would bowl on Sunday.

"He's had quite a big workload in the last few weeks, and then batting in the first innings, he was getting quite a bit of cramp.

"We are hoping that with another night's rest and a bit more physio work overnight, he'll be back and doing a bit."

That's stumps.

We need eight wickets to win the Test and the series going into Day 5 pic.twitter.com/6Hqvwng7Xs

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 26, 2025

Stokes was also seen clutching his hamstring while chasing a ball in the outfield, but Trescothick played down concerns, saying: "It's just a build-up.

"It's just such a heavy workload, from where he's been to what he's doing. It's just trying to monitor it, and obviously, the cramp that he was getting, you have that little bit of worry… We'll see what he's like [on Sunday]."

India may have conceded the highest run score at Old Trafford as England finished their first innings on 669, but they cut the hosts' lead to 137 runs thanks to Rahul and Gill's 174-run partnership for the third wicket.

The tourists know they need big performances on the final day to keep their hopes of a win alive, and India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak was full of praise for their performances.

"We just need to take it hour by hour," Kotak told reporters.

"They [Gill and Rahul] showed great determination. They batted brilliantly. Rahul has been outstanding in this series."