Image Credit- AP
The rookie off-spinner, making just his second Test
appearance, capitalised on Joe Root’s undefeated 122 to give England the upper
hand in this fourth Test. At 84 wickets for the time being, Bashir’s
first-class wicket total sets a new career high. With India still trailing by
134 runs in the first innings as of Saturday night, the tourists are one step
closer to tying the series at 2-2 thanks to this spell.
And, incidentally, that was a spell. Unbroken deliveries from the Amitabh
Choudhary Pavilion End accounted for a massive 31 overs. The highest
consecutive total since Graeme Swann’s 32 overs against New Zealand in May 2013
at Headingley.
Ben Stokes had no qualms about pushing him through
today’s lengthy stint because England learned a lot about his consistency and
durability from that outing. There were a few leg side fielders strewn about in
the odd catching and single-saving positions, but mostly there were no offside
fielders between first slip and extra cover to right-handers. It required
Bashir to stay in a direct line of attack. Instead of the other way around, he
performed it like someone who has taken 67 County Championship wickets at an
average of 10.
The dismissals came, of course, when one adheres to an
off-stump route with such diligence. Shubman Gill was almost caught in front as
drift set up the No. 3’s front foot before there was enough rotation to hit the
pads. After a stand of 82 between Gill and the rising star Yashasvi Jaiswal,
England began to fear that their 353 might not be sufficient.
Perhaps due to the dip, Rajat Patidar misread the length, returning to a ball
he should have gone forward to and then wearing a low-bouncing delivery halfway
up his shin. After hitting Tom Hartley for two consecutive sixes, Ravindra
Jadeja was quickly in motion, charging forward to a delivery that bounced more
than expected and found some bat. The catch was made at short-leg by Ollie
Pope.
In his eighteenth over, Bashir gave up 17 boundaries;
a pair of fours from Jaiswal, the first smashed wildly over first slip,
quadrupled that total. Before the six-foot-four action found a spot with
insufficient bounce to force the left-hander to bunt the ball into the ground
and back onto his middle stump, Jaiswal carved out one more boundary off him.
It was the first time Jaiswal had attempted a back-footed fake shot against
Bashir.
“Imagine being 15 or 16 years old, a young
spinner, and hearing Bashir’s story?” Root said. “It just shows how
close you can actually be, how you should keep dreaming and chasing it, keep
giving yourself the best chance to work at your game. Because you never know
where you could end up.”
Right now, a new chapter is being written in a story of perseverance and
belonging. Of an offspinner setting England on a course for a much-needed Test
victory to keep this series against India alive.