England spinners Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley dominated proceedings on the second day of the fourth Test against India in Ranchi. On a surface where the guests posted a total of 353 before being bundled out, hosts India failed to replicate this, at least on the second day of the match. Despite Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring 73 runs, India were reduced to 177 for 7. It was an unbroken 42-run partnership between Dhruv Jurel (30) and Kuldeep Yadav (17) for the eighth wicket that saved India's blushes on the day.
England off-spinner Bashir was the commander-in-chief with figures of 4 for 84, while left-arm orthodox Hartley scalped 2 for 47 on the day.
Former Three Lions captain Michael Vaughan was extremely pleased with the English spinners' dominance against Indian batters on the latter soil and said it was “a joy to watch”.
“Two young English spinners confusing Indian players on how to play in their own backyard is a joy to watch. I don't think Bashir has bowled one bad ball,” Vaughan wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
2 young English spinners confusing Indian players on how to play in their own backyard is a joy to watch.. I don't think Bashir has bowled 1 bad ball.. #INDvENG
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 24, 2024
Young off-spinner Bashir raced through the Indian line-up with an impressive four-wicket haul to send the hosts stuttering on day two of the fourth Test at Stumps on Saturday.
The 20-year-old Bashir, playing only his second Test, got rid of Shubman Gill (38), Rajat Patidar (17), Ravindra Jadeja (12) on a pitch with uneven bounces and cracks that rattled the Indian top and middle order. order.
He returned after the tea break in his marathon spell of 31 over two sessions to clear the in-form Jaiswal (73) with a ball that slid through the left-hander's defence.
With intermittent wickets keeping India behind, they were forced to play a catch-up game and found themselves trailing by 134 runs at the end of play on Day 2.
Without a combative partnership between Jurel and Kuldeep, India would have struggled to even cross the 200-run mark.
(With PTI inputs)
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