NEW DELHI: India's dominance at home stood firm against the 'Bazball' onslaught as Rohit Sharma's squad clinched a hard-earned five-wicket victory over England in the fourth Test, marking their 17th consecutive series win on home soil. This triumph served as a stark reminder of the limitations of England's one-dimensional strategy.
Starting the day at 40/0 in pursuit of 192, India overcame a few stumbling blocks to secure victory. Captain Rohit Sharma (55 off 81 balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37 off 44 balls) set a solid foundation with their 84-run opening partnership.
Although there were tense moments after their dismissals, as Rajat Patidar and Ravindra Jadeja fell quickly, Shubman Gill (52 not out) and Dhruv Jurel (39 not out) steadied the ship, guiding India across the finish line with an unbeaten 72-run partnership.
Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley (1/64) took the prized scalp of Rohit, while Shoaib Bashir was the most successful English bowler, scalping 3/79 in the second innings for a match haul of eight wickets.
1/10:4th Test: India beat England to take unassailable lead
AP
2/10:Five-wicket win
<p>India accomplished a nervy chase to secure a five-wicket victory against England in the fourth Test and claim an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series. </p>AP
3/10:The flying start
<p>Chasing a modest 192 for victory, India cruised to 84 for no loss with openers Rohit Sharma (55) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37) giving them a flying start. </p>AP
4/10:Shoaib Bashir
<p>The English spinners, led by Shoaib Bashir (3-79), then engineered a collapse that left India reeling at 120-5. </p>AFP
5/10:India openers
<p>Needing 152 runs on day four with all 10 wickets intact, Rohit and in-form opener Jaiswal looked at ease on a pitch, where the odd ball kept low. </p>AFP
6/10:Rohit Sharma
<p>Rohit smacked James Anderson for a six over mid-on and Jaiswal hit spinner Shoaib Bashir for back-to-back fours. </p>IANS
7/10:Joe Root
<p>Joe Root broke the stand in his first over when Jaiswal tried to slice it and Anderson dived full length at short third man to grab the edge. </p>Getty Images
8/10:The stumping
<p>Rohit brought up his fifty before Hartley drew him out of the crease with a flighted delivery and Ben Foakes whipped off the bails to effect the stumping. </p>AP
9/10:Sarfaraz Khan
<p>India slumped to 100-3 after Bashir dismissed Rajat Patidar for a duck and after lunch accounted for Ravindra Jadeja and Sarfaraz Khan off successive deliveries. </p>AP
10/10:Match-winning stand
<p>Shubman Gill (52*) and Dhruv Jurel (39*) combined in an unbroken stand of 72 for the sixth wicket to clinch India's victory on the penultimate day of the contest. </p>APIndia lead 3-1 in the series with the last game scheduled in Dharamsala from March 7. The team's last home series loss was a 1-2 defeat to an Alastair Cook-led England in 2012-13. Since then, India have won 39 out of 50 Tests at home.
The host team's victory marked a stunning downfall for 'Bazball', which has been a much-hyped winning mantra for England since 2022 and is now facing all-round criticism for being too rigid and lacking in depth.
Conceptualised after the appointment of Brendon McCullum as coach and Ben Stokes as captain, England's plan to attack irrespective of circumstances found its match in the unflappable approach of the Indians.
While the visitors remained stubborn barring the conservative hundred by veteran Joe Root here, the Indians adapted and refused to be bogged down by setbacks.
The opening loss in Hyderabad was expected to unsettle the home side which was already without superstar Virat Kohli, out due to personal reasons, and the injured K L Rahul.
On the contrary, the team was galvanised by the arrival of rookies, who grabbed their opportunities with both hands.
Whether it was batter Sarfaraz Khan in Rajkot or wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel and pacer Akash Deep here, the team gained from the infusion of fresh energy.
Jurel was a key factor in ensuring series-deciding win with his gritty 90-run knock in the first innings and the solid cameo in the second essay -- both efforts coming in high-pressure situations.
On Monday, Rohit and Jaiswal started positively. After seeing through veteran pacer James Anderson's opening over, Rohit brought out his swat flick to dispatch the 41-year-old for a maximum over wide long-on.
Bashir operated from the other end as runs came thick and fast for India, be it in singles or in boundaries.
The sense of desperation was palpable as Anderson was seen sprinting down to the fine leg boundary and even threw his body but could not stop a boundary off Jaiswal's bat.
The duo swept and reverse swept to tackle the low bounce from the spinners with Rohit playing the lead role in the partnership. He also got past 9,000 runs in first-class cricket.
With nothing going their way, Stokes brought in Joe Root to unsettle the rhythm and the part-timer did just that by exploiting the rough against the Indian left-hander.
Jaiswal failed to control his inside-out shot and Anderson pulled off an absolute stunner with a forward diving catch at backward point.
Stokes was quick to take Root out of the attack and operated with his two spin twins in Bashir and Hartley, who did a decent job in stopping the run flow.
Gill looked under pressure to rotate the strike, which affected a well-set Rohit at the other end as boundaries dried up, pushing India on the back-foot.
Hartley was finally rewarded for his miserly spell with the prized scalp of the Indian captain.
Rohit came down the track only to be beaten by the flight and spin from Hartley and Ben Foakes did the needful behind the stumps. Though Rohit was way out of the crease, he was adjudged caught behind after getting a faint tickle on the way to the wicketkeeper.
Bashir raced to his eight-wicket match haul in his second Test by sending back Ravindra Jadeja and Sarfaraz Khan off successive deliveries right after the lunch break. The Indian chase began to unravel with those dismissals but Gill teamed up with Jurel to steady the ship.
Against the run of play, Jurel produced a lovely cover drive off Bashir who went too wide and full. The Indian made full use of the opportunity to get the team's first boundary in 31 overs.
There was a sigh of relief and the Indian victory did not seem remote anymore.
The target soon came down to less than 50 and Gill too joined in the party smashing Bashir for back-to-back sixes.
(With inputs from PTI)
