India pulled off a dominant five-wicket win in the fourth Test match against England on Monday to seal the highly-anticipated series by 3-1. Rohit Sharma-led India registered their 17th successive Test series win at home while the visitors tasted their maiden series defeat under Ben Stokes' leadership.
Despite missing senior cricketers, the hosts relied heavily on youngsters to clinch a desirable result after defeat in the series opener. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel shone with a bat while Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav made an impact with a ball to clinch a victory on Ranchi's slow wicket.
India recorded a few records after a series win but also conceded one unwanted milestone during the Ranchi Test. India's middle order batters (no. 4, 5 and 6) Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan and Ravindra Jadeja failed to contribute with runs in a memorable match in Ranchi as they managed to scorch only 47 runs together across two innings.
This emerged as India's lowest score by middle order (no. 4, 5 and 6) in a Test match in the last 40 years and the eighth-lowest of all time. Patidar's poor form continued as he scored 17 and 0, Jadeja was promised to no.5 after smashing a century in Rajnkot but the veteran scored 12 and 4 in Ranchi.
Sarfaraz Khan, who scored two fifties in his Debut match in Rajkot returned with 14 and 0 in Ranchi Test.
Lowest scores by the middle-order batters in a Test match for India:
- 47 runs vs England, Ranchi, 2024
- 45 runs vs West Indies, Ahmedabad, 1983
- 44 runs vs Pakistan, Karachi - 1978
- 44 runs vs England, Manchester - 1952
- 38 runs vs England, Lord's, 1936
- 36 runs vs Pakistan, Karachi, 1982
- 17 runs vs England, Lord's, 1967
- 13 runs vs New Zealand, Hyderabad, 1969
Patidar, Jadeja and Sarfaraz's 47 runs in Ranchi almost cost India a match but Dhruv Jurel and Shubman Gill stood tall to earn a five-wicket win while chasing a 191-run target on Day 4.
