Singh strikes twice, England stretch lead

MANCHESTER England (Reuters) - Indian paceman Pankaj Singh claimed his long-awaited first wicket in test cricket on Saturday as England extended their first innings lead to 173 runs at lunch on the third day of the fourth test at Old Trafford. Singh, who made his debut in the third test at Southampton, removed Joe Root (77) and Jos Buttler (70) as England progressed to 325 for eight, thanks to the robust 134-run partnership between the pair. Chris Woakes (six) and Stuart Broad (zero) were at the crease unbeaten at the interval. Both Root and Buttler were caught as Singh varied his pace to good effect, India having taken the new ball at 257-6 after England had resumed at 237-6 following Friday's rain-curtailed action. Root, who looked set for a century after playing with confidence and flair, was dismissed when he gloved a rising delivery off his pads down the leg side to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. It was Singh's maiden test wicket after previously toiling through 69 overs and two balls in vain. Root had earlier completed his seventh test half-century with a tickled shot off his pads as England seemed to be settling in to build a substantial total without much discomfort. Buttler survived when he was dropped by Virat Kohli in the gully at 34, off the bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and went on to hit some powerful boundaries before lofting a drive to Cheteshwar Pujara at mid-off from a disguised slower ball in the final over before the interval. The five-match series is level at 1-1.