"They've got five world-class players missing" - Michael Vaughan in awe of Team India after series win over England
Former England captain Michael Vaughan lauded Team India for taking an unassailable lead in the ongoing Test series against England with a gritty win in the fourth match at Ranchi. The 48-year-old reckons the victory is more impressive since the hosts are without at least five first-choice players.
Chasing 192 in the Ranchi Test, India started Day 4 at 40-0 with openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal on the crease. The hosts then collapsed to 120-5 at one stage, but Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel combined for an unbroken 72-run stand to push the hosts over the line.
Speaking to BBC Test Match Special, Vaughan highlighted how India came back from tough situations multiple times to win the match. He feels the series win bodes well for their future, and lauded the calmness with which Gill and Jurel played.
"They've got five world-class players missing. They also lost a very important toss [in Ranchi], and they faced a first-innings deficit. It's an incredible win for now, but also for the future of this team. England wanted Jurel and Gill to play aggressively after lunch, because that would give them a chance to take wickets. But they played sensibly, and just knocked it around. Shubman Gill was Mr Calm, he played with so much clarity and control," he said.
Gill showed great temperament and patience to take his team over the line. The right-hander scored his first boundary on the 120th delivery of his knock and stayed unbeaten on 52 off 124 deliveries.
"They were a lot of challenges thrown at us" - Indian captain Rohit Sharma
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma admitted that it was a relief to win the Test series with the win in Ranchi. He praised the youngsters for responding well to the challenges thrown at them. He said at the post-match presentation:
"It has been a very hard-fought series without a doubt and to come on the right side of it at the end of four Test matches feels really good. Really proud of everyone in the dressing room. They were a lot of challenges thrown at us but I thought we responded pretty well. We had different challenges in different Test matches and I thought we were quite composed in what we wanted to achieve and what we wanted to do on the field, very happy."
The fifth and final Test of the series will start in Dharamsala on March 7.