Finance
India took on England in day four of the third Test of their five-match series at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Sunday.
India started the day with bat in hand, leading by 322 runs with Shubman Gill and nightwatchman Kuldeep Yadav in the middle. Once Gill was run out for 91, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal resumed his innings on 104*, after he had retired hurt on Saturday evening. In the company of Mumbai teammate Sarfaraz Khan, the pair smashed England all over the park, enabling India to declare at 430/4 and set the visitors 557 to win.
The Indian bowlers then took over, skittling England for just 122 to secure a 434-run victory.
AFTER INDIA’S 434-run win over England at Rajkot on Day 4 of the third Test, the team’s biggest in terms of runs, captain Rohit Sharma spoke about the biggest takeaway — youngsters delivering when it mattered.
“Lots of credit to the young boys who have shown character and that they belong at this level and want to belong here. We talk about bench strength and we saw it in this series. It’s a good feeling to win a game after being down 33 for 3 in the first innings,” Rohit said after the team took a 2-1 series lead with two Test matches to go.
The youthful players’ efforts gave India hope for a bright future for the Test team.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, 22, became the third youngest person to hit two double hundreds (the youngest being Vinod Kambli, and the second youngest being Don Bradman).
After playing for years in first-class cricket, Sarfaraz Khan, 26, made sure he capitalized on his Test debut with two half centuries, and Shubman Gill, 24, who began the series under pressure, turned things around with a hundred in the previous Test and a 91 in this Test’s second innings.
Chasing a target of 557 runs, England were shot out for 122 in their second innings; it was a throwback to an earlier era when English batsmen would collapse in a heap, after their bowlers leaked runs to Indian batsmen.
It was the 90s all over again after two close Tests in which England won the hearts with their attacking approach with the bat and the ball.
It was a game with a couple of dramatic moments: from India stumbling to 33 for 3 on the opening morning to R Ashwin having to leave the game midway due to a family emergency on the evening of Day 2, after reaching the remarkable landmark of 500 Test wickets. He rejoined the team on Sunday morning – “it shows his character to put the team ahead,” Rohit said.
But it would be Jadeja who followed his first-inning hundred with a five-for in the second to bowl out England for 122 and bag the man-of-the-match award.
With England strolling along comfortably at 224 for 2, in pursuit of India’s first innings total of 445, Joe Root reverse swept Jasprit Bumrah to second slip. Not long after, when they seemed to be on recovery, reaching 299 for 5, their captain Ben Stokes slugged to long-on. In between, the imperious centurion Ben Duckett carved a wide delivery straight to cover to complete England’s banana-peel of a day.
“Because he got out to it, Joe Root’s dismissal was the turning point,” Stokes admitted. “It’s not a shot you necessarily see Test match players playing. But look, who am I to question a guy who has 30 Test match hundreds, nearly 12,000 Test match runs. I think he knows what he’s doing.”
Stokes would also say that England won’t change their aggressive approach that has come to be known as Bazball. “No, not at all. We will go out there and play with freedom. There is no need to change; just a look at the execution.”
At 33 for 3, on the opening day on a flat pitch, things had looked dire for the hosts. But the seniors came to the rescue then as Rohit and Jadeja hit hundreds in a 204-run partnership. Even then, India’s position wasn’t secure but Sarfaraz smashed a 66-ball 62 to not only strengthen India’s grip but also showed how to effectively take on England’s spinners on this track.
Jaiswal took the inspiration from his maiden double century and followed it by smashing the bowlers in the second innings to put India in an unbeatable position. The fact that Jaiswal and Sarfaraz, two young players in this series, have given three of the more encouraging knocks of intent speaks much.
As the series went on, there was concern that India may be eliminated because of the inexperience of the players, but the fact that the younger players are starting to take charge will cheer the team management. Particularly following Axar Patel’s and Shreyas Iyer’s ball-handling mishaps (Iyer was dropped).
“You have to work really really hard for four-five days to win a Test, which is good. We were good with our plans in the 2nd and 3rd Test and executed what we wanted to do on the field with bat and ball and took some good catches as well,” Rohit said.
In the end, an all-round effort did the job for India while England, even if they don’t admit publicly, have some introspection to do.
Source:IE
