IND vs ENG: India have tamed the English Bazball at home after a thrilling win in a fascinating fourth Test in Ranchi. Well led by a composed partnership between Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel, the hosts crossed the finishing line to chase 192 down and take an unassailable lead of 3-1 in the series. The hunger for more would still continue and they have more than a century-old rare Test record in their sights.
The Men in Blue are leading the five-match series 3-1 and another win would see them emulate a very rare 112-year-old Test record. If they manage to win the final Test in Dharamsala, they would become the first team in 112 years to win a five-match Test series by 4-1 after losing the first game since 1912.
In Test cricket's history, there have been only three instances of teams winning a five-game series 4-1 after losing the opening game. Australia have done it twice - in 1897/98 and 1901/02 against England before the English side turned it around in 1911/12 to win by a similar margin despite losing the first match.
The Indian side went down in the first match of the ongoing series against England in Hyderabad as the visitors made a stunning comeback after being behind for the majority of the game. A special Ollie Pope daddy hundred helped them take a 1-0 lead. The Indians then bounced back. Yashasvi Jaiswal's first innings double ton and Shubman Gill's second innings hundred alongside Jasprit Bumrah's sensational bowling display set the ball rolling for the hosts with a 1-1 scoreline.
They did not let the momentum slip away with a sensational win despite looking in trouble during the third Test when England were 238 behind with Ben Duckett eyeing a 150 and having seven wickets in hand at the end of day 2. But they turned the tables in their favour for a special win with Mohammed Siraj and other bowlers doing the trick with the ball and Jaiswal scoring yet another double ton.
The fourth Test saw the Indians displaying a marvellous game on day 3 to yet again to turn the table despite being 134 behind England's first innings score by the end of day 2 with only three wickets in hand. Dhruv Jurel, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin starred to help the hosts tame the Bazball effect with Jurel and Kuldeep starring with the bat, before Kuldeep and Ashwin doing the trick with the ball. In the chase, Rohit Sharma laid a foundation before Shubman Gill and Jurel worked hard for a win.
Notably, this was England's first series loss under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum's era since the two held the post of captain and head coach, respectively in 2022.
