RANCHI: Indian youngsters Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel’s remarkable effort with the bat took the hosts across the finishing line and clinched the series with a five-wicket victory in the fourth Test against England on Monday.
Once again, India managed to get the better of England on Day 4 and this victory has allowed them to gain an unassailable lead in the five-match series (3-1). Gill and Jurel’s unbeaten 72-run stand played a pivotal role after Shaoib Bashir and Tom Hartley inflicted a flurry of wickets in a quick session.
The second session saw momentum shift like a pendulum, in favour of both teams. Ravindra Jadeja and Shubman Gill continued to drive India’s score but Shoaib Bashir’s arrival forced India to go on the backfoot. He dismissed Jadeja for 4 and, on the next ball, got Sarfaraz Khan for a golden duck. Jurel came in and had a few nervous moments but settled on quickly.
As England made India work hard for each run, both batters showed grit throughout their stay as the equation slowly started to come down. With 20 runs needed, Gill opened his arms and struck back-to-back sixes to bring India within touching distance of victory. He raised his bat for a well deserved half century and the crowd stood up to applaud the 24-year-old for his valiant effort.
Jurel scored a boundary and then picked up a double to get India across the finishing line and seal the series. Gill and Jurel remained unbeaten with scores of 52 and 39, respectively. In the first session, England managed to blow the game wide open by picking up three wickets.
The opening duo of skipper Rohit Sharma and young gun Yashasvi Jasiwal showed signs of taking the game away within a blink of an eye after a slow start to the game. Rohit started to accelerate after he cleared the boundary line in James Anderson’s over. Jaiswal joined the party as he followed up with a four.
Confidence was a factor that was evident during their stay, but Jaiswal’s in a moment of rush sliced the ball in Joe Root’s over and Anderson took a brilliant diving catch to break the 84-run stand. Rohit went on to complete his fifty but was caught behind, while Rajat Patidar’s misery continued as he got dismissed for a six-ball duck.
Earlier in the Test, England won the toss and elected to bat first. Joe Root’s 122* propelled the visitors to a score of 353. In reply, India succumbed to a score of 177/7 but Jurel and Kuldeep Yadav stitched up a 76-run stand to take the hosts to a competitive score of 307.
England walked out with hopes of taking a strong lead, but Ravichandran Ashwin spun England to restrict them on 145.
Brief score: England 353 & 145 (Zak Crawley 60, Jonny Bairstow 30, Ravichandran Ashwin 5/51) vs India 307 & 192/5 (Shubman Gill 52*, Dhruv Jurel 39*; Shoaib Bashir 3/79). (ANI)