Supporters of both teams experienced twists and turns and nail-biting situations along the way, but in the end there were no miracles for those willing to support England. India achieved a target of 192 runs on Day 4 in Ranchi to win the fourth Test by 5 wickets and claim an undisputed 3-1 with one match remaining Leads win series.
Two days into the match, thoughts of a potential decider in the Himalayan region of Dharamshala have begun to percolate, with England appearing to be in control of their own destiny. Their hosts fell behind by 134 runs in the first innings and were seven wickets behind – a golden opportunity for the visitors in India.
But after a devastating third day for Ben Stokes and his men, with Dhruv Urell deftly tidying up the tail and reducing the deficit before collapsing at the hands of the Indian spinners, they have Just go with the flow. Jurrel played his second Test at 1.38pm local time on Day 4 of Reality, pulling Tom Hartley to the leg side for the final two overs.
Jurel, a 23-year-old right-hander with a right-hander who has similarities to Virat Kohli, was not out when the handshake broke out and he was in the 72nd over for the sixth One half of a wicket. Alongside him was Shubman Gill, just a year older than his wicketkeeper, who finished third with an unbeaten 52 off 124 balls.
The duo came together for 120 for 5 after lunch, with Shoaib Bashir another youngster winking to Ravindra Jadeja and Safraz Khan within two overs of the 38th over, sparking thoughts of England’s robbery . India haven’t hit a boundary since the 16th over, when Jadeja bowled a full delivery to Jonny Bairstow at mid-wicket and Sarfraz Khan hit O at short leg. That pressure boiled over when Leigh Pope fiddled with a bat pad.
But in the 47th over, after a period of observational build-up with Gill, Jurel broke the drought by nudging Bashir through cover and got the required runs under 50. Jimmy Anderson was sidelined with reports of quadriceps tightness – Ollie Robinson was completely ignored – and Bashir and Tom Hartley were unable to spark another turn.
Instead, after initially hitting the target, Gill and Jurel gave their adoring public a final flourish, with Gill lifting Bashir for a couple of sixes in the 60th over, his only breakthrough limit. Bashir finished with eight runs from 198, including three on the final day, to be the main highlight for the visitors.
The result lived up to initial expectations and there was a chilling sense of fear among the England supporters in the stands when Rohit Sharma took Anderson for six in the third over of the day. Resuming 40 runs with prodigy Yashasvi Jaiswal, the India skipper made an early statement of intent.
It wasn’t as if the header fell in the middle as Stokes was able to summon three wickets in nine overs – including two off eight balls – to leave the home side three in the 27th over Two leads by 100. Jaiswal took a catch at backward point off the bowling of Joe Root and scored 37, followed by Hartley and Bashir. Open twice.
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Hartley performed beautifully, Sharma was chased down by Ben Foakes for 55 as the lightest of scratches suggested it wasn’t a stumble and Pope Another flying catch was taken under the helmet to remove Rajat Patidar and give a duck to Bashir.
Although England’s two rookie spinners were full of confidence on the day and never dropped their heads as they turned to the skipper, they were unable to match Ravichandran Ashwin and Kurdi 24 hours earlier. The same panic caused by Kuldeep Yadav.
Things might have been different if India were chasing a target similar to the 231 they failed to achieve in Hyderabad, so many went all out on day three and fell to 145, with Robinson going from Jurel catches the ball in his hands about 59-90 degrees along the tail. England had a chance in this match and India took it.
