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So, that will be all from this, the 4th Test match of the series. The action now shifts to Dharamsala for the 5th and final game with important World Test Championship percentage points up for grabs. Will India dominate with a 4-1 score-line, or will England get a win and end the tour on a high? We can expect some changes to both teams for that match and as always, the spotlight will be on the pitch. Well, we cannot wait to bring you the coverage, live from a wonderful, wonderful venue, with some absorbing cricket expected to cap off an international season filled with excitement! The action begins on the 7th of March at 9:30 am local time (9:30 am IST), be sure to join us for that, friends. For now, this is the pair of Pragadeesh and Bidipto taking your leave. Keep following Sportskeeda!
This has been one of the best Test matches in recent times! Both teams kept throwing punches at each other and right till the end, we could not tell who would win. Joe Root and Ollie Robinson put together a partnership of substance to give England a score for their bowlers to defend. Then came a superb bowling effort from the visitors to make life even more difficult for the hosts. But Dhruv Jurel, Kuldeep Yadav and Akash Deep had other ideas. From a position of weakness, they made sure that the England lead came down to only 46 runs. After that, it was the Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav show with ball in hand! The off-spinner took his 35th 5-wicket haul to make a statement and India managed to bowl the away side out for under 150. Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal got off to a bright start for the home team and made it look as though it would be a walk in the park to knock off 192 runs. However, Shoaib Bashir, Tom Hartley and Joe Root did not throw in the towel and neither did skipper Ben Stokes. It required a calm and composed 72-run unbeaten stand between young Shubman Gill and wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel to bail India out of trouble and hand India a series win against this stubborn England Test side! Ranchi, in more ways than one, did not disappoint!
Dhruv Jurel has been adjudged the Player of the Match! Here is what he has to say.
Dhruv Jurel: (Initial thoughts) Really happy feeling, I must say! The first innings fifty was special! But a lot of credit has to go the batters batting lower down the order to hang in there and build partnerships with me. (On facing the likes of James Anderson) I have watched a lot of him bowling on TV, and now, the opportunity to face him live, is a big thing. This experience as a batter has been really fulfilling! (On his partnership with Shubman Gill in the 2nd innings) Shubman and I kept talking to each other right from the start of this 2nd innings 6th wicket partnership about not throwing it away. We did not try anything fancy, just kept doing the basics and kept rotating strike. Pretty happy to have finished the game for the team!
Rohit Sharma (India captain): (First thoughts) It has been a hard fought series, there were lots of challenges thrown at us right through these Test matches, and, we have done well to come up trumps very much all the time! (On the temperament of the younger players) It tells me that they want to be here and play a lot for India in this format. It is a big challenge to play Test match cricket but they are encouraged by the occasion all the time. Rahul bhai and I try to create an environment for them which helps them gel well. All the youngsters, be it Dhruv Jurel, Kuldeep Yadav, or even Shubman Gill, have performed above expectations so consistently! (On having a rahter new look team in this series) It's always a big miss when some of your regular names are not part of the team, but even then, these newcomers have stepped up and tried their best to fill in those boots, as much as possible. (On the next game i.e., the 5th and final Test) We turn up for every Test match on the lookout for a win. We try and put our best foot forward. It's never easy to play a 5-match Test series and especially so for these younger players, but our motive will be the same in the next game at Dharamsala.
Ben Stokes (England Captain) - It was a great Test match and if you look at the scorecard, you can say that India won by 5 wickets but there were ebbs and flows in every single day. That's the way I am as a person and as a captain. India are an intimidating side at home and I just backed my bowlers to do the thing. Credit to Hartley and Bashir and I couldn't be more proud of them considering how well they performed. I love Test Cricket and in both sides there were inexperienced players who rose to the occasion, so Test Cricket is bright. We have been winning in periods and scoring became difficult when the condition was like that against Ashwin, Jadeja and Kuldeep. They made things tough for us to score. Joe Root, it was an incredible knock. He had his fair share of criticism but I don't think it's right. Also, Shoaib Bashir, coming in without much experience and picking up eight wickets in Test was great. You want to win and my message is constantly consistent. Everyone has given everything on the field and that's what matters to us
Shubman Gill - We were put under pressure but I think we had a good start by our openers. You have to see the situation and play accordingly sometimes. Their bowlers bowled good lines and protected the boundaries well. On a wicket like this, we have to be patient and take the singles. When they give any lose deliveries, try to pounce on that. (A chat before the hat-trick ball) I told you batted beautifully and just keep the same mindset. The way he came down against the off-spinners was great. I wanted to take LBW out of the equation by stepping out in the second session. It means a world for us. There were some nerves after losing the first test but Rohit Bhai backed us throughout and gave us the confidence to go out and play with freedom
1:40 pm local time, 1:40 pm IST: India win by 5 wickets and take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the 5-match Test series!
Joe Root - 122* (274) and 11 (34) | Shoaib Bashir - 5/119 (44) and 3/79 (26) Dhruv Jurel - 90 (149) and 39* (77) | Ravindra Jadeja - 4/67 (32.5) and 1/56 (20)
What a beginning to the session it was for both teams! After the first over, Shoaib Bashir picked up the wickets of Ravindra Jadeja and Sarfaraz Khan in back-to-back deliveries with India still requiring 72 runs to win.
The pitch was assisting the spinners a lot with turn, lack of turn, bounce and lack of bounce - alike! Dhruv Jurel joined Shubman Gill at the crease at that point of time with the visitors sensing more blood.
But right from the time the wicketkeeper-batter faced the first ball in this innings, he looked busy at the crease against spin. Those impressive straight-bat shots, with subtle opening and closing of the bat face came to the fore and the 6th wicket stand began building slowly but surely.
Gill himself was not shy of using his feet to pick up singles and twos. And then, from both ends, both batters rotated strike every over to thwart the England spinners.
Run by run, the confidence in the Indian dressing room grew. Then came a full and wide delivery from Bashir that got put away to the cover boundary off the front foot! Since then, nothing could trouble this partnership.
They kept on rotating strike and negated those balls which misbehaved. But even when there were a few runs remaining, the duo held its composure and took as few risks as possible to ensure a magnificent victory under pressure!
After 2014, this is the second time that India have chased down a target in excess of 190. This also is the longest streak without a loss in home Test matches - India have now won 17 series in a row!
Also, under the leadership of Ben Stokes and coaching of Brendon McCullum, England have lost their first series in Test match cricket.
India win the Test match and the series with one match to go! Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel finish it off with an unbeaten 72-run 6th wicket partnership!
61
overs
192/5score
0
4
0
0
0
2
runs
Dhruv Jurel*
39(77)
Shubman Gill
52(124)
Tom Hartley
1/70
60.6 Tom Hartley to Dhruv Jurel, THAT'S IT, INDIA WIN THE SERIES 3-1. This is the first series loss for England under Ben Stokes' captaincy. A match-winning partnership from Gill and Jurel as they hug each other. Delight in the dressing room. England showed a lot of fight in the run chase but couldn't find a way to break this partnership. Quicker on a good length angling in, Jurel presses half forward and turns it to the vacant backward square leg region for a couple