"Bazball clownery ended in India" - Fans react as England lose to India by 5 wickets in Ranchi to lose Test series
England lost to India by five wickets in the fourth Test at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi on Monday, February 26. The victory gives India an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
This marks the first series loss for captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, who have previously achieved success with their 'Bazball' approach to red-ball cricket.
Fans on X (formerly Twitter) trolled England for their first series defeat in the Bazball era. One user wrote:
"Bazball clownery ended in India."
Here are a few more reactions:
Chasing 192 in the fourth innings of the fourth Test, India chased down the target in 61 overs. Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel stayed unbeaten on 52 (124) and 39 (77) to guide the hosts to a five-wicket win.
The duo shared a match-winning 72-run partnership after the visitors took three quick wickets to leave India in a spot of bother at 120/5. India captain Rohit Sharma (55 off 81) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37 off 44), had previously shared an 84-run stand for the opening wicket.
India beat England despite trailing by 46 runs in 1st innings
India were trailing England by 46 runs in the first innings. An inspirational spell by veteran Ravichandran Ashwin, paired with excellent bowling from Kuldeep Yadav led to the downfall of England in their second innings.
Ashwin's fifer and Yadav's four-wicket haul saw the visitors bundle out for 145, handing India a 192-run target. Zak Crawley (60 off 91) top scored for England in the third innings.
Batting first, the visitors posted 353 in their first innings, thanks to a century from Joe Root. The former captain scored 122 off 274, including 10 boundaries. Ravindra Jadeja starred with the ball for the hosts, returning with figures of 4/67, while Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj scalped three and two wickets, respectively.
In response, India were bundled out for 307 in their first innings. Dhruv Jurel and Yashasvi Jaiswal starred with the bat, scoring 90 (149) and 73 (117), respectively. Shoaib Bashir picked up his maiden five-wicket haul for the visitors, while Tom Hartley and James Anderson shared three and two wickets, respectively during India's first innings with the bat.
Check out the full IND vs ENG 4th Test scorecard here.