Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India]: India’s five-wicket win over England in the fourth Test maintained and extended their unbeaten record at home on Monday.
Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel inspired India to a famous series win following their unbeaten 72-run stand at the JSCA International Stadium Complex.
This victory marked India’s 17th successive series win at home. The Indian team has stayed unbeaten in 33 instances when they had to chase down a target below 200. India have won 30 and drawn three in these 33 instances.
On the other hand, Bazball tasted a series defeat for the first time since Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes took charge in 2022.
This defeat also marked the 10th Test defeat for Stokes, Joe Root and veteran pacer James Anderson in India. They are now level with former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting in terms of Test defeats in India.
Gill and Jurel’s unbeaten 72-run stand played a pivotal role in India’s series win 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. India clinched the fourth Test match with a five-wicket win.
