The Indian cricket team registered a five-wicket win against England on Monday to seal the five-match Test series. India's home supremacy weathered the 'Bazball' storm as Rohit Sharma's men recorded a hard-fought five-wicket win over England in the fourth and penultimate Test on Monday for a 17th consecutive series victory in their own backyard in Ranchi, handing a harsh reality check to the one-dimensional approach to visitors. 40/0 overnight in a chase of 192 here, India stormed home after surviving a few hiccups, with the opening duo of skipper Rohit Sharma (55 off 81 balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37 off 44 balls ) provided the perfect platform for others to build on with their 84-run stand on day four of the match.
After the win, Virender Sehwag went looking for England. “Karlo Entertainment, England. Jeet jaisi boring cheez Bharat, Australia, New Zealand kar lenge (Focus on entertainment, England. Meanwhile, India, Australia and New Zealand will do boring things like win),” he wrote on X
Karlo Entertainment,
England.
Jeet jaisi boring cheez Bharat, Australia, New Zealand kar lenge. pic.twitter.com/srREBULvXl— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 26, 2024
There were some jitters after the two left in quick succession, followed by the dismissals of Rajat Patidar and Ravindra Jadeja, but Shubman Gill (52 not out) and Dhruv Jurel (39 not out) guided the side across the finish line with an unbeaten partnership of 72 points.
Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley (1/64) took Rohit's prized scalp, while Shoaib Bashir was the most successful English bowler, with a scalping of 3/79 in the second innings for a match tally of eight wickets.
India led 3-1 in the series, with the final match scheduled in Dharamsala from March 7. The team's last home series loss was a 1–2 defeat to Alastair Cook-managed England in 2012–13. Since then, India have won 39 of the 50 home Tests.
The host team's victory marked a stunning demise for 'Bazball', which has been a much-hyped winning mantra for England since 2022 and now faces widespread criticism for being too rigid and lacking depth.
England's plan to attack whatever the conditions emerged following the appointment of Brendon McCullum as coach and Ben Stokes as captain, and was matched in the Indians' unflappable approach.
While the visitors remained stubborn, barring veteran Joe Root's conservative hundred here, the Indians adapted and refused to be bogged down by setbacks.
The opening defeat in Hyderabad was expected to upset the home side, who were already without superstar Virat Kohli due to personal reasons, and the injured KL Rahul.
On the contrary, the team was stimulated by the arrival of rookies, who grabbed their opportunities with both hands.
Be it batsman Sarfaraz Khan in Rajkot or wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel and pacer Akash Deep here, the team benefited from the infusion of new energy.
Jurel was a key factor in securing the decisive victory with his hard 90-run knock in the first innings and the solid cameo in the second essay – both tries coming in high-pressure situations.
With PTI inputs
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