IND VS ENG: Spinners take India to brink of victory against England in Ranchi

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

Also Read: 4th Test: Spinners Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley help England take upper hand as India trail by 134 runs

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