IND Vs ENG: India won the five-match series of the red ball format against England yesterday in Ranchi. The Men in Blue are the only side in this world to win a series against Ben Stokes and his BAZBALL style of play.
The home side is ahead with a lead of 3-1 in this five-match Test series with still one more game to be played in Dharamshala.
India didn’t bat that well in their 1st innings and their bowling was also not that good especially when England was down to 112 for the loss of five wickets.
The Blues allowed the visitors to score 353 runs instead of restricting the opposition to a minimum score. India’s batting was also below par despite batting in their known conditions of spin.
In the 1st innings when the Men in Blue side batted, it was Yashasi Jaiswal who scored 73 runs and then Dhruv Jurel played a solid innings of 90 runs which allowed the Indian Team to reach a total of 307 which was 46 run short of England’s 1st innings score.
That was also because the main batters like Skipper Sharma, Jadeja, Rajat Patidar, Sarfraz Khan and Ashwin failed to counter the spin bowlers of England in the 1st innings of the fourth red-ball match in JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi.
Jurel shared a valuable partnership with Kuldeep Yadav and the debutant Akash Deep to make sure that India doesn’t fall too behind in this engrossing contest.
But he missed a chance to score a maiden hundred in this match and he was dismissed for 90 runs which was just 10 runs behind his first-ever three-figure mark.
In the second innings, India bowled well and bundled the visitors for just 145 runs. That happened because of Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav. England gave a target of 191 runs for Rohit Sharma and his men to win this match.
India had a decent start to their innings in this run chase. The Indian openers, Jaiswal and Sharma added 86 runs to the first wicket.
However, England fought back well to scare India with the wickets of Patidar, Jadeja and Sarfaraz Khan in quick succession.
Then it was Shubman Gill and the hero of the 1st innings Dhruv Jurel who ensured a five-wicket victory for the home team. India was reeling at one point in their second innings as well. But Gill and Jurel stood tall in this run chase and allowed India to win this match and the series.
Tom Hartley picked up a five-wicket haul in the 1st Test match in Hyderabad which the visitors won and now it was Shoaib Bashir, who is the latest entrant to pick up a five fer in India. He did that in the 1st innings of the 4th Test match in Ranchi.
Joe Edward Root has been a terrific batter for his side, England. He scored a masterful century in the 1st innings, which was his tenth ton against The Men in Blue in Test Matches. He was unbeaten with a score of 122 runs which allowed the visitors to score 353 runs in their 1st innings.
Root was the last batsman who scored a double century in India in the red ball format. Root scored 218 runs in that innings in Chennai and England also won that game.
Now Joe is also the last bowler from his team who picked up a five-wicket haul in India in the Test matches. He achieved this feat in that same series in 2021.
The 3rd Test match of that red ball series in 2021 was a Pink Ball Test match. That Day Night match was played in Ahmedabad. England could amass just 112 runs in their 1st innings while India also didn’t have good match with the bat in hand.
The hosts were also bundled out for 145 runs and in that Joe Root picked up a five-wicket haul. Despite that, the visitors, England could not win that Test Match. But before Bashir, it was Joe Rooot, the last bowler from England who picked up a five-fer in a red ball match in India.
