Image Credit- AFP
India, spearheaded by the sixth-wicket combination of
Dhruv Jurel and Shubman Gill, withstood England’s challenge to win the fourth
Test in four days and take the series 3-1 with one remaining.
India’s pursuit took a serious knock after Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal
opened the scoring with a brilliant partnership. They lost five wickets for 36
runs in 20.5 overs, leaving them at 120 for 5, needing 72 more runs to win.
However, they were successful because of Gill and Jurel’s unwavering
partnership—the latter of whom was playing just his second Test.
After a promising start when they resumed on 40
without loss, needing 152 more, India was made to work hard by England’s young
spinners, Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley, who bowled with great maturity in the
second hour of the morning session. After taking three wickets in his opening
five-wicket innings, Bashir gave India serious fear.
But in the end, England had left India with too little to do after Jurel’s 90
got India close to victory in the first innings, and R Ashwin’s five-for and
Kuldeep Yadav’s four saw England bowled out for 145 in the second, leaving
India with a victory target of 192 with two days and a bit remaining. It took
them just over thirty minutes.
Jaiswal, who has been so good this season, was removed
by James Anderson with an age-defying mid-air catch at short third, but India
managed just 34 runs in the 19.3 overs before lunch. After the interval,
Ravindra Jadeja gave Bashir his first of two wickets in two balls with a full
toss straight to midwicket, which may have been the reason India felt uneasy.
Ben Foakes’s cries of “we’re a bang-bang away, lads” with India
needing just 27 more could have been the reason why devoted England supporters
could have been forgiven for thinking “just maybe” at that moment.
However, India has a track record that speaks for
itself; they haven’t lost a home Test series in almost 11 years.
They were crushing their aim on Monday morning, scoring 42 runs in the first
eight overs of play. After Rohit hit Anderson for six over mid-on, his team
passed fifty and still had 140 to reach. While they increased the boundary
count, he and Jaiswal employed sweeps and reverse sweeps against Bashir and
Hartley.
With a delivery outside off that brushed the edge ever
so slightly before swooping into Foakes’ gloves, Hartley pulled Rohit out of
his crease. When Foakes flicked off the bails with Rohit still out of his
ground, he would have been out for 55 even without the edge. At first, it was
believed to be a stumping until UltraEdge showed a small spike.
After Rajat Patidar’s length ball turned from off stump into the inside edge
and popped to Ollie Pope at backward short leg via the knee roll, Bashir
dismissed him for a six-ball duck in the next over. Patidar, who has only twice
reached double digits and once crossed 30 in six innings, had a bad series that
continued.
India had seven wickets remaining and needed 74 at
lunchtime. Then, in the second over following the interval, Bashir turned the
tide in favour of England by taking two wickets off the same ball. After he got
one to turn from outside off, he had Jadeja caught by Jonny Bairstow off a full
toss, beating Sarfaraz Khan’s defensive prod to take a thin edge onto the pad
and into Pope’s hands at backward short leg.
Jurel and Gill then set to work, gradually racking up the runs they need. At
the beginning of their partnership, Jurel assumed the lead role, scoring 32 off
70 balls until Gill, with 39 off 119, got out of control. Gill hit Bashir over
long-off with 20 runs required, and two balls later, he reached his fifty by
clearing the fence at deep midwicket.
Jurel got in on the act, pulling Hartley through
mid-on for four, and it was he who struck the winning runs, working a Hartley
delivery off his legs as he and Gill ran two.