India secure 17th straight Test series win at home
Overnight 40/0 in a chase of 192 here, India romped home after surviving a few hiccups with the opening duo of skipper Rohit Sharma (55 off 81 balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37 of 44 balls) providing the perfect platform for others to build
PTI
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India lead 3-1 in the series with the last game scheduled in Dharamsala from 7 March. PHOTO: PTI
Ranchi, 26 Feb
India's home supremacy weathered
the 'Bazball' storm as Rohit Sharma's men secured a hard-fought five-wicket win
over England in the fourth and penultimate Test for a 17th consecutive series
triumph in their own backyard here on Monday, handing a harsh reality check to
the visitors' unidimensional approach.
Overnight 40/0 in a chase of 192
here, India romped home after surviving a few hiccups with the opening duo of
skipper Rohit Sharma (55 off 81 balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37 of 44 balls)
providing the perfect platform for others to build with their 84-run stand on
day four of the match.
There were some jitters after the
two departed in close succession followed by Rajat Patidar and Ravindra
Jadeja's dismissal but Shubman Gill (52 not out) and Dhruv Jurel (39 not out)
guided the side past the finishing line with an unbeaten 72-run partnership. Left-arm
spinner Tom Hartley (1/64) took the prized scalp of Rohit, while Shoaib Bashir
was the most successful English bowler, scalping 3/79 in the second innings for
a match haul of eight wickets.
India lead 3-1 in the series with
the last game scheduled in Dharamsala from 7 March. The team's last home series
loss was a 1-2 defeat to an Alastair Cook-led England in 2012-13. Since then,
India have won 39 out of 50 Tests at home. The host team's victory marked a
stunning downfall for 'Bazball', which has been a much-hyped winning mantra for
England since 2022 and is now facing all-round criticism for being too rigid
and lacking in depth. Conceptualised
after the appointment of Brendon McCullum as coach and Ben Stokes as captain,
England's plan to attack irrespective of circumstances found its match in the
unflappable approach of the Indians.
While the visitors remained
stubborn barring the conservative hundred by veteran Joe Root here, the Indians
adapted and refused to be bogged down by setbacks. The opening loss in
Hyderabad was expected to unsettle the home side which was already without
superstar Virat Kohli, out due to personal reasons, and the injured KL Rahul. On
the contrary, the team was galvanised by the arrival of rookies, who grabbed
their opportunities with both hands. Whether it was batter Sarfaraz Khan in
Rajkot or wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel and pacer Akash Deep here, the team gained
from the infusion of fresh energy. Jurel was a key factor in ensuring
series-deciding win with his gritty 90-run knock in the first innings and the
solid cameo in the second essay -- both efforts coming in high-pressure
situations.
On Monday, Rohit and Jaiswal
started positively. After seeing through veteran pacer James Anderson's opening
over, Rohit brought out his swat flick to dispatch the 41-year-old for a
maximum over wide long-on. Bashir operated from the other end as runs came
thick and fast for India, be it in singles or in boundaries. The sense of
desperation was palpable as Anderson was seen sprinting down to the fine leg
boundary and even threw his body but could not stop a boundary off Jaiswal's
bat.
The duo swept and reverse swept to
tackle the low bounce from the spinners with Rohit playing the lead role in the
partnership. He also got past 9,000 runs in first-class cricket. With nothing
going their way, Stokes brought in Joe Root to unsettle the rhythm and the
part-timer did just that by exploiting the rough against the Indian
left-hander. Jaiswal failed to control his inside-out shot and Anderson pulled
off an absolute stunner with a forward diving catch at backward point.
Stokes was quick to take Root out
of the attack and operated with his two spin twins in Bashir and Hartley, who
did a decent job in stopping the run flow. Gill looked under pressure to rotate
the strike, which affected a well-set Rohit at the other end as boundaries
dried up, pushing India on the back-foot. Hartley was finally rewarded for his
miserly spell with the prized scalp of the Indian captain.
Rohit came down the track only to
be beaten by the flight and spin from Hartley and Ben Foakes did the needful
behind the stumps. Though Rohit was way out of the crease, he was adjudged
caught behind after getting a faint tickle on the way to the wicketkeeper.
Bashir raced to his eight-wicket
match haul in his second Test by sending back Ravindra Jadeja and Sarfaraz Khan
off successive deliveries right after the lunch break. The Indian chase began
to unravel with those dismissals but Gill teamed up with Jurel to steady the
ship.
Against the run of play, Jurel
produced a lovely cover drive off Bashir who went too wide and full. The Indian
made full use of the opportunity to get the team's first boundary in 31 overs. There
was a sigh of relief and the Indian victory did not seem remote anymore. The
target soon came down to less than 50 and Gill too joined in the party smashing
Bashir for back-to-back sixes.
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