The fourth ENG vs IND Test will begin on July 23 in Manchester.
The stars were aligned in India’s favour. The visitors needed just 193 to win the third ENG vs IND Test at the Home of Cricket. But they were soon reduced to 58/4 on the evening of the penultimate day. With 135 runs required on the last day with six wickets in hand, the Indians knew it was going to be a steep climb. KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant started the final day on a positive note, before Jofra Archer happened. He bowled a fantastic delivery to send Pant’s off-stump cartwheeling and reduce India to 71/5. But it didn’t end there. The visitors kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were 82/7 within no time. But a match that was assumed to be over by Lunch on Day 5 went on until an hour after tea. Ravindra Jadeja stood tall between England and victory.
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder was hailed for his efforts. He scored 61 runs from 181 deliveries, staying at the crease and defending India out of a muddle. However, many wanted Jadeja to take a slightly aggressive approach, especially towards the latter part of the innings. But given the fields that Ben Stokes had set, it was tough for the all-rounder to play aggressive cricket. What had to be considered was that he was batting with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj at the other end. Jadeja did the best he could, but India fell short after Siraj lost his wicket in an unlucky manner. Former England skipper Nasser Hussain expressed his thoughts about India missing the services of Virat Kohli, especially in the chase. He also urged the visitors to find a better chaser.
“No Virat Kohli today. India needs to find a new one. The old one has retired. He was the king of the run-chase”, said Hussain on air.
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With an evenly-fought game at the Lord’s Cricket Ground, the series stands 2-1 in favour of England. Skipper Stokes showed massive resilience on the fifth Day of the Test. He bowled a total of 44 overs in the match, out of which 24 came in the second innings. Along with his bowling, what stood out for him was his captaincy. The English skipper was very clear in his mindset and made the Indians work hard for the runs. The visitors needed 81 runs when Nitish Reddy got out at the stroke of lunch. After Jasprit Bumrah came in to bat, England made sure India didn’t get runs easily. Stokes had the field spread out to Jadeja and was happy giving the single to him on the third or fourth delivery of every over. What England needed was just one ball to do something, or the batter to make a mistake.
This victory was a fitting reply from the hosts. The inclusion of Archer will add a lot of confidence to the bowling attack. However, England will miss the services of Shoaib Bashir in the remainder of the series, as the off-spinner is sidelined nursing a finger injury. While England will have to find a solution to their spin-void, India will have to find a way to get Kuldeep Yadav into the mix. The series will now shift to Manchester for the fourth Test. The venue has always been good in terms of assistance to spin, and India will hope that it continues to be that way.
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