Ranchi: In the pursuit of 192 for a series win, India reached 40/0 in eight overs at stumps on day three of the fourth Test against England at the JSCA International Stadium on Sunday, which saw Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav and Dhruv Jurel play crucial roles in leading the fightback for the hosts.
India still need 152 to win the fourth Test, with two days still left in the match. Captain Rohit Sharma made great use of full and overpitched deliveries from Tom Hartley to hit four boundaries and be 24 not out, as the England spinner’s inexperience with the new ball showed.
Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal swept Joe Root easily to be unbeaten on 16 as India walked off with smiles on their faces. India began Day Three with 134 runs behind England’s first innings score with just three wickets in hand. But Jurel and Kuldeep (28 off 131 balls) shared a crucial 76-run stand for the eighth wicket to help the hosts fight back in the match.
Though Kuldeep later became James Anderson’s 698th Test scalp, Jurel, playing just his second Test, survived a caught-out chance on 59 and shifted gears well to be India’s top-scorer with a terrific 90 off 149 balls.
England had a first innings lead of 46, but Ashwin wreaked havoc with the new ball to pick his 35th five-wicket haul in Tests via a splendid 5-51. Ably supporting him was Kuldeep taking 4-22, while Ravindra Jadeja had a scalp to his name.
In the morning, Jurel impressed everyone with his compact batting and judicious shot selection, while exhibiting a calm temperament, application and maturity in taking the team out of trouble in challenging conditions. Though he missed out on a maiden Test century by 10 runs, Jurel’s knock, laced with six fours and four sixes, helped India cross 300 and narrow the deficit to just 46. IANS
Scoreboard
England: 1st innings - 353,
India: 1st innings- 307
England: 2nd innings -
Zak Crawley b Kuldeep 60
Ben Duckett c Sarfaraz b Ashwin 15
Ollie Pope lbw b Ashwin 0
Joe Root lbw b Ashwin 11
Jonny Bairstow c Patidar b Jadeja 30
*Ben Stokes b Kuldeep 4
Ben Foakes c and b Ashwin 17
Tom Hartley c Sarfaraz b Kuldeep 7
Ollie Robinson lbw b Kuldeep 0
Shoaib Bashir not out 1
James Anderson c Jurel b Ashwin 0
Total: 145-10 (53.5)
FOW:Duckett (19-1, 4.5), Pope (19-2, 5), Root (65-3, 17), Crawley (110-4, 28.1), Stokes (120-5, 32.3), Bairstow (120-6, 33.1), Hartley (133-7, 40.3), Robinson (133-8, 41), Foakes (145-9, 53.2), Anderson (145-10, 53.5)
Bowling:
R Ashwin 15.5 0 51 5
Ravindra Jadeja 20 5 56 1
Mohammed Siraj 3 0 16 0
Kuldeep Yadav 15 2 22 4
India: 2nd innings:
*Rohit Sharma not out 24
Yashasvi Jaiswal not out 16
Total: 40-0 (8)
Bowling:
Joe Root 4 0 17 0
Tom Hartley 3 0 22 0
Shoaib Bashir 1 0 1 0
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