England's Moeen Ali elated after his first ever Test win
England’s Moeen Ali has termed the 266-run win against India in the third Test match of the ongoing series, at Rose Bowl, as his “best moment” for his country. Riding on the off-spinning all-rounder’s 6/67 in the second innings of the Test, the home side registered their first Test win in almost a year’s time, 353 days to be exact.
“Even if I didn’t get the six wickets it would be the best moment. I’m just very happy. I’m more happy that I contributed to the team winning the game.
On the manner in which he ran through the Indian batting line-up, which possesses some of the better players of slow bowling in the world at this point of time, Moeen said: “That makes me more happy, but even if I didn’t and we won the game I’d still be really happy.”
Start of a new era for the English side?
The 27-year-old, who made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Lord’s this June, already has a Test hundred and a five-wicket haul to his name. The home team outplayed India in every session of the Southampton Test, and Moeen, who won his first Test in an England shirt, thinks that the dominance signifies that the team is on the right path after the retirement of some of their seniors.
“I think we’ve set our standard now. That’s the level of cricket we want to play - to really boss the game as much as we can, every session counts. Hopefully that’s a kick-start into a new era,” said Ali.
England managed a remarkable turnaround after the thrashing Alastair Cook’s men suffered at Lord’s and now go into the next game, at Old Trafford on August 7, hoping to keep the visitors at bay.
Unchanged England squad
While India have called up Naman Ojha as a replacement for the injured Wriddhiman Saha, the English selectors have named an unchanged squad for the fourth Test, despite knowing that their strike bowler James Anderson is under a risk of facing a two-match ban for allegedly “pushing” and “abusing” Ravindra Jadeja during the first Test match of the tour.
The hearing was completed today, and the 32-year-old’s fate would be known in 2 days time.