Tag: India vs England

Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel guided India to a series-clinching five-wicket win over England on day four of the fourth Test on Monday.

Chasing 192 for victory, India slipped to 120-5 but Gill (52) and Jurel (39) put on an unbeaten stand of 72 to achieve the target during the second session in Ranchi.

The win gave India an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series after they lost the first Test.

“It’s been a very hard-fought series, so to come on the right side of it feels very good,” India’s skipper Rohit Sharma said.

“A lot of challenges were thrown at us, but we responded.”

It was the first series defeat for captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum since they took charge in 2022 and changed England’s fortunes with their attacking philosophy dubbed “Bazball”.

“It was a great Test match, the scoreboard doesn’t give enough credit to the game as a whole, the ebbs and flows,” Stokes said, adding that he “couldn’t be more proud” of his spin bowlers.

“So much credit to our spinners, being exposed to a situation like that at the start of their careers,” Stokes said.

Gill played the anchor in his 124-ball knock as he and Jurel, who made 90 in India’s first innings, staved off a mini-crisis when Shoaib Bashir took two wickets in two balls soon after lunch.

India still needed 72 more but Gill and Jurel rotated the strike coolly to pick off singles before the former raised his fifty with two successive sixes off Bashir.

“We were put under pressure… but Jurel came out and took the pressure off, he saw the situation and played accordingly,” Gill said.

He praised captain Rohit Sharma for his support, saying he “gave us the confidence to go out and play with freedom”.

Jurel hit the winning runs, punching the air and hugging his partner as the Indian dressing room rose to celebrate.

India started the morning strongly with Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal extending their overnight 40-run opening stand to 84.

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Joe Root made the breakthrough in his first over of the day, as he induced Jaiswal, on 37, to loop a catch to a diving James Anderson at backward point.

Rohit reached his half-century but fell for 55, caught behind by wicketkeeper Ben Foakes off Tom Hartley’s left-arm spin.

He was initially ruled as stumped, but it was later changed to caught behind.

England’s travelling army of fans then erupted when Bashir, who took his maiden five-wicket haul in the first innings, had Rajat Patidar brilliantly caught by Ollie Pope for a duck to leave India 100-3.

After the interval, Bashir silenced the home fans with his twin strikes to give England some hope of an unlikely win.

Ravindra Jadeja slapped a full toss to Jonny Bairstow at mid-wicket and Sarfaraz Khan tickled the next ball to Pope at backward short-leg for a duck, but Jurel survived the hat-trick ball.

England had scored 353 all out in their first innings and led by 46 after India’s 307.

Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav set up the victory after they shared nine second-innings wickets to bundle out England for 145 on day three.

England had recovered from 112-5 in their first innings courtesy of Root’s unbeaten 122.

India were without pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested, but the bowling stood up — including debutant quick Akash Deep, who took three early wickets after England elected to bat.

Anderson reached 698 Test wickets in the match and needs two more to become only the third bowler to 700 after Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and late Australia spin wizard Shane Warne (708).

The fifth and final Test begins on March 7 in the Himalayan hill town of Dharamsala.

“We turn up to every Test thinking we want to win,” Rohit said, adding he was “confident we will put on a good show” for the last match.

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England’s Shoaib Bashir said on Sunday a finely poised fourth Test against India offers his team’s young spin attack the “chance to be heroes”.

Bashir took his first five-wicket haul in only his second Test to help bowl India out for 307 in the morning session of the third day in Ranchi before the hosts fought back, with India needing another 152 runs with 10 wickets in hand to win the match and the series.

Bashir, 20, and fellow spinner Tom Hartley, 24, are both still new to Test cricket but shared eight wickets between them in India’s first innings.

However, senior Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav then turned up the heat with nine wickets between them to dismiss  England for 145 and tilt the game in the hosts’ favour as they chase a winning total of 192.

India lead the five-match series 2-1 but Bashir remained confident of an England victory in Ranchi and then a decider in Dharamsala.

“I know tomorrow I have a job to do and me and Tommy are really excited for the challenge,” Bashir told reporters after India made it to stumps on 40-0 in their second innings.

“We saw how Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja bowled on that wicket, and we take huge confidence from that,” he said.

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Bashir said the challenge to outdo the experienced opposition spinners spurs him on.

“We’ve still got a bit of a rivalry going on. I used to watch these guys when I was a bit younger and they’re world-class spinners,” he said.

“We know us two lads are up against a world-class attack but we’ve got a chance to be heroes,” he said.

Shoaib Bashir, who missed the opening match due to a visa issue and made his debut in the second Test in Visakhapatnam, rattled the Indian batting with four wickets on day two during a marathon spell of 31 overs unchanged.

He trapped debutant Akash Deep lbw for his fifth wicket on Sunday and kissed the ground in celebration.

“It was a very special moment on my journey,” Bashir said.

“Two years ago, I wouldn’t have thought anything like this (would happen)… It was quite emotional as well.

“I lost my two granddads about a year-and-a-half ago and they used to just sit and watch Test cricket all the time. Their wish was to see me out on the TV, I know they’re supporting me from up above,” he said.

READ: Sharma, Jaiswal firm as India chase 192 in England Test

RANCHI: Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took five wickets as India bowled England out for 145 on day three of the fourth Test here on Sunday to set up a chase of 192 to clinch the series.

India reached 40-0 at the stumps, needing another 152 to win their third straight match and the five-Test series. Skipper Rohit Sharma was unbeaten on 24, with Yashasvi Jaiswal on 16.

Opener Zak Crawley earlier top-scored with 60 but the rest of the England batting faltered against India’s spin, with Ashwin returning figures of 5-51 and Kuldeep Yadav 4-22.

England lost regular wickets to end their innings in the final session, leaving it up to the bowlers to level the series and send it to a fifth Test decider in Dharamsala.

India’s bowlers did their job after wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel hit 90 in the morning session to reduce the hosts’ deficit after they began the day on 219-7.

Ashwin took the new ball on a pitch with cracks and variable bounce and struck in consecutive balls to remove Ben Duckett, caught at short leg for 15, and Ollie Pope, lbw without scoring, as England were reduced 19-2.

Root, who scored an unbeaten 122 in the first innings, put on 46 with Crawley before Ashwin and India reviewed an lbw appeal, with tracking software indicating the ball pitched just in line and would have hit Root’s leg stump.

Crawley raised his fifty but was bowled by Yadav, who turned one sharply with his left-arm wrist spin.

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Yadav then removed Ben Stokes just before tea when the England captain was undone for the second time in the match by a ball that barely bounced ankle high and was bowled off his pad.

Jonny Bairstow fell on the first ball after tea and the innings folded soon after. Ben Foakes fell for a 76-ball 17 off Ashwin.

England spinner Shoaib Bashir took his first Test five-wicket haul to help bowl India out for 307, giving the tourists a lead of 46 going into their second innings.

India were rescued in the morning session by Jurel, who put on a 76-run eighth-wicket stand with overnight partner Yadav.

Veteran fast bowler James Anderson broke the stand when Yadav, on 28, played on to give the veteran seamer his 698th Test wicket.

The 41-year-old is now two victims away from becoming just the third bowler to take 700 wickets in Tests, after Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and the late Australian great Shane Warne (708).

Jurel, who made his debut in the third Test in Rajkot, hit six fours and four sixes in his 149-ball stay and picked up his maiden Test half-century.

Bashir, 20, who missed England’s win in the first Test due to a visa issue, trapped debutant Akash Deep lbw for his fifth wicket and kissed the ground in celebration.

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RANCHI: England spinner Shoaib Bashir ran through India’s middle-order with four wickets and restricted the hosts to 219/7 at Stumps on Day 2 of the ongoing fourth Test here on Saturday.

India were trailing by another 134 runs when the stumps were called with wicketkeeper batter Dhruv Jurel and Kuldeep Yadav unbeaten at the crease.

The duo of Jurel (30) and Yadav (17) batted sensibly in the final hour of the second day to stop England’s bowling charge, who had India reduced to 177/7.

The hosts had a shaky start to their innings as their skipper Rohit Sharma (2) perished cheaply with just four runs on the board.

But in-form opener Yashasvi Jaiswal partnered strongly with Shubman Gill and anchored the innings.

They added 82 runs for the second wicket before Shoaib Bashir got Gill lbw with a sharply spun delivery. The right-handed batter scored 38 with the help of six boundaries.

Jaiswal then put on brief partnerships with Rajat Patidar (17) and Ravindra Jadeja (12) before finally perishing in the final session.

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He remained the top-scorer for India with a gutsy 73 which featured eight boundaries and a six.

The home side found themselves in heaps of trouble earlier in the third session as Sarfaraz Khan (14) and Ravichandran Ashwin (1) also fell cheaply, bringing India down to 177/7.

Earlier in the day, England resumed their first innings with an overnight score of 302/7 with Joe Root and Ollie Robbinson.

The pair started from where they left off and appeared in complete control until Jadeja broke the threatening partnership by getting Robbinson caught behind.

Robbinson scored 58 off 96 deliveries with the help of 10 boundaries including a six.

His dismissal exposed England’s batting tail and Jadeja, fuelled with momentum, struck twice again in his consecutive overs to book England on 353.

England’s star with the bat Joe Root remained unbeaten with a gutsy 122 which featured 10 boundaries.

Ravindra Jadeja led the bowling attack for India with four wickets, followed Akash Deep, who bagged three on debut.

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England’s Joe Root was roundly praised Friday after becoming the first batsman to make 10 Test centuries against India after departing from his team’s attacking strategy and back to more conservative cricket.

Root made an unbeaten 106 as he lifted England from a precarious 112-5 to 302-7 at stumps after they elected to bat first in the fourth Test in Ranchi.

The former captain returned to form after managing just 77 runs in his previous six innings and weathering criticism for his dismissal off a misjudged reverse scoop in England’s loss in the third Test.

Root put on 113 runs for the sixth wicket with wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Foakes (47) as the two remained uncharacteristically patient, a step away from England’s attacking “Bazball” style.

“A really good day for England and a masterful hundred from England’s best player in Joe Root,” former captain Michael Vaughan told TNT Sports.

“This was the day England played the situation perfectly.”

Fellow ex-captain Nasser Hussain said on Sky Sports that Root’s innings was “an absolute pleasure to watch”.

“You don’t keep a great player down and Joe Root is definitely a great player, arguably one of England’s greatest if not England’s greatest-ever batter,” he said.

“I saw a steely toughness in his eye today, whether he was stung by the criticism he received for some of the shots he has played or whether it’s actually Joe himself wanted to contribute more.”

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Root came out at the fall of Ollie Pope’s wicket for a duck and witnessed Zak Crawley get bowled on 42 before he got down to the grind with Jonny Bairstow, another batsman to struggle this series.

England soon lost Bairstow for 38 and then skipper Ben Stokes at the stroke of lunch but Joe Root remained determined in his 226-ball stay, which witnessed just one reverse sweep off Ravichandran Ashwin.

“This is the Joe Root mode that win you Test matches!” South African great AB de Villiers wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Root reached his 31st Test ton with a boundary off debutant fast bowler Akash Deep — who captured three wickets in the first hour of play — and took off his helmet and raised his bat in a muted celebration.

“Phenomenal knock,” Crawley said after the day’s play.

“He’s probably the only bloke in our team who could have done that knock. He’s that good, he’s our best player and he’s stepped up when we needed him to,” he said.

“We needed him to get a score and he got a score like he’s done for so many years now, he’s a phenomenal player.”

Root made 11,493 Test runs in his 138 previous matches, with an average of close to 50, since his debut in 2012.

Joe Root is now ahead of former Australia captain Steve Smith, who has nine career Test centuries against India.

READ: Joe Root’s ton recovers England to 302/7 against India

RANCHI: Experienced batter Joe Root scored a gutsy century to recover England from a dismal on Day 1 of the fourth Test against India here at JSCA International Stadium Complex on Friday.

Opting to bat first, the touring side amassed 302/7 on the opening day of the Ranchi Test. England are fighting to stay alive in the five-match series, led by India 2-1.

The visitors had a shaky start to their innings as debutant pacer Akash Deep took three wickets to reduce them to 112-5.

But, Joe Root, who had just 77 runs to his name in the previous six innings, found his form at the right time and launched an astounding recovery.

Root put together an anchoring 113-run stand with wicketkeeper batter Ben Foakes, who scored 47.

Right-arm pacer Mohammed Siraj broke the threatening partnership by getting Foakes caught at short midwicket. He smashed four boundaries and a six amid his crucial knock.

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Siraj then struck again to castle England’s opening Test hero Tom Hartley on 13 as England slipped further to 245/7.

But Joe Root, undeterred by the back-to-back dismissals, stood his ground firm and knitted another vital partnership for England when he added an unbeaten 57 runs for the eighth wicket with Ollie Robbinson.

The experienced batter brought up his century by smashing Deep for a boundary and received a standing ovation from England fans and players.

Joe Root smashed only nine boundaries during his fighting knock, showcasing utmost patience and resilience on a cracked pitch.

At the closure of play, Root was unbeaten on 106 while Robbinson had made 31 not out.

Akash Deep led the bowling attack for India with three wickets, followed by Siraj, who bagged two while Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin made one scalp each.

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England spinner Rehan Ahmed will leave India because of “personal reasons” and will not return for the rest of the series, confirmed by the country’s cricket board on Friday.

“He will not be returning to India and we will not be naming a replacement,” England Cricket said in a statement.

The 19-year-old played the first three matches and took 11 wickets with his leg spin but was replaced by fellow spinner Shoaib Bashir for the fourth Test in Ranchi.

Earlier this month, Rehan Ahmed, also had an issue while returning to India after the team’s 10-day break in Abu Dhabi after the second Test.

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Ahmed had a single-entry visa that expired once he left for a mid-series break to the United Arab Emirates and was initially stopped at the airport before being granted a temporary entry permit while authorities resolved the issue.

England, led by Ben Stokes, is currently trailing the five-match series 2-1 after they won the opener.

India’s Virat Kohli had opted out of the series due to personal reasons and on Tuesday announced the arrival of his second child, a boy, with Bollywood wife Anushka Sharma.

READ: England unveil Playing XI for fourth India Test

RANCHI: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Thursday, announced the Playing XI for the must-win fourth Test against India, scheduled to commence on Friday.

The touring side made two changes to their Playing XI for the Ranchi Test with Shoaib Bashir and Ollie Robbinson coming in for Rehan Ahmed and Mark Wood respectively.

Robbinson last represented England in the third Ashes Test at Headingley in July. But the pacer could only bowl 11.2 overs before being ruled out of the series due to a back spasm.

He will accompany seasoned pacer James Anderson to form England’s pace attack. The 41-year-old only managed one wicket in the Rajkot Test.

Meanwhile, Bashir, who made his Test debut in Visakhapatnam, also returned to the side in place of Rehan Ahmed.

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The leg-spinner took four wickets in the second Test, returning figures of 3/138 and 1/58. Tom Hartley retains his place in the team, with Joe Root expected to continue to bolster the spin attack.

England captain Ben Stokes pinned high hopes on young off-spinner Bashir to do well on the Ranchi wicket, anticipated to aid the spinners.

“We do like to look at the pitch two days out and one day out because that’s how we like to pick our XIs,” said Stokes.

“Someone like Bash, who releases the ball from such a high release point, the extra bounce that he gets we feel is going to bring us more into the game,” he added.

It is pertinent to mention that India lead the five-match Test series against England 2-1.

England’s Playing XI: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir.

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Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been rested from the fourth Test against England and batsman KL Rahul has been ruled out due to injury, the country’s cricket board said Tuesday.

Bumrah played a key part in India’s last two victories as the hosts took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series but he has been released from the match in Ranchi starting Friday.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said: “The decision was taken keeping in mind the duration of the series and amount of cricket he has played in recent times.”

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Rahul played the opener but missed the next two matches due to a quadriceps injury and “his participation in the final Test match in Dharamsala is subject to fitness”.

Medium-pace bowler Mukesh Kumar joined the team in Ranchi after he was released from the third Test, which the hosts won by 434 runs on Sunday.

India squad for the fourth Test

Rohit Sharma (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Devdutt Padikkal, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.

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RAJKOT: Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a quick unbeaten double-century, followed by Ravindra Jadeja’s five-fer to guide India to a crushing victory over England in the third Test of the five-match series here on Sunday.

India set England to chase a mammoth 557 runs on the fourth day and bundled the visitors for a meagre 122 to register a 434-run victory, which is India’s largest margin of victory in Test cricket. The hosts are now leading the series 2-1.

England lost eight wickets in the final session after being 18-2 at the end of the second session.

England lost their openers including first-innings centurion Ben Duckett, run out on four before tea, followed by Jadeja rattling the middle-order with his left-arm spin after the tea.

Jadeja got Mark Wood out for 33 as the final wicket, and he kissed the pitch as India registered their biggest-ever win in terms of runs.

Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root extended their poor run in the five-match series and got out for four and seven respectively.

Skipper Ben Stokes attempted to resist the Indian bowling force but fell lbw to left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav for 15 in his landmark 100th Test.

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Prior to that, the left-handed Jaiswal stood out with his 214 off 236 balls to flay the opposition attack as India declared their second innings on 430-4.

The opener returned to bat in the morning session after he retired hurt at 104 late on day three due to back pain.

He raised his second double ton in consecutive matches with a single off Root — and jumped in joy.

Jaiswal hit a record-equalling 12 sixes in his knock which included three straight hits over the fence off James Anderson — a first for the veteran quick with 696 wickets in 185 Tests.

Jaiswal now stands level with former Pakistan great Wasim Akram, who also hit 12 sixes in an innings against Zimbabwe in 1996.

Jaiswal put on marathon stands including an unbeaten 172-run partnership with debutant Sarfaraz Khan, who made 68 for his second half-century in the match.

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