Quick guide:
INDIA vs ENGLAND
The 4th and the last test match in the test series of England’s tour of India!! A lot was at stake. With one spot open for World Test Championship, India was eyeing for a win or settle with a draw to ensure a position in finals. With a loss in the last test, England were out of competition. But, its cricket and it’s not over until it’s over! If England won the test, India would lose their chance and Australia would be playing against New Zealand who are already in the finals.
We were expecting a game full of passion, hunger and eyes on the prize! With the days coming closer to THE DAY of the match, a lot of anticipation was there. Fans from Australia prayed for England to win while fans from India were all out there looking for a win. The day was here and every cricket fan was hooked to the screen from the toss.
Match Summary
England won the toss and chose to bat first. In my view it wasn’t a bad toss to lose if we wanted the say in our hands. Last innings of batting would mean either a win or a draw and it would be our performance that would decide the same.
England won the toss and chose to bat first. They Indian bowling unit did not mind and started attacking early in the game. Axar Patel unsettled the top order as Crawley (9 in 30) and Sibley (2 in 8) were dismissed early on in the day. Joining him was Mohammed Siraj who picked up the wickets of Root (5 in 9) and Bairstow (28 in 67). With 4 early wickets, England looked in trouble. It was quite a call for concern to see the England batting lineup struggle like this.
It was Ben Stokes (55 in 121) and Dan Lawrence (46 in 74) who helped England put up a decent total on the board. Short but useful contributions from Ollie Pope (29 in 87) and Bairstow also proved to be crucial in the England’s 1st innings. Axar Patel (26-7-68-4), Ravichandran Ashwin (19.5-4-47-3) and Mohammed Siraj (14-2-47-2) were the top wicket takers for India in the innings who along with Washington Sundar (7-1-14-1) and Ishant Sharma (9-2-23-0), ensured a low total for England. England ended the innings at 205-10.
It was tie for the batting unit to capitalize on the situation and take a good lead. India experienced an early blow as Shubman Gill was dismissed at 0. It was then on Pujara and Rohit to take the innings forward. However, Pujara was dismissed at 17 (68) followed by Kohli on 0. The quick wickets gave England a good momentum to get in the game. After a good 27 (45), Rahane too had to walk back.
The hit-man show fell short as Rohit was dismissed at 49 (144). Soon Ashwin (13 in 32) too was dismissed and India looked in trouble. It was time for a Pant- Sundar show. They built a good and strong partnership. Rishabh Pant (101) scored his maiden home century.
It was a Pant show which England unit too was amazed to see. He started off slowly, understanding the condition and later on charged like it was a limited overs game. He found the gaps and the boundaries. The reverse sweep shot against James Anderson was the talking point of his innings!!
On the other end was a silent support to him. Sundar kept stealing the runs and hitting a few boundaries. It was only after Pant was dismissed that he took the risks and responsibility to give India a good lead. He was supported by Axar Patel, who scored good 43 (97) runs. While it was unfortunate for Sundar to be on the non-striker’s end at 96, it was the 96* that told us about how valuable he is as a batter.
While the whole of India prayed for him to reach his maiden test 100, we have to wait for the next time. With Stokes (27.4-6-89-4) and Anderson (25-14-44-3) bowling some good spells, it helped England pick up wickets and build the pressure. Along with them, Jack Leach (27-5-89-2) also troubled the batters for a long time. India was bowled out for 365 runs with a lead of 160 runs.
In the 2nd Innings, England were not in a good position. They were down to 30-4 within 13.1 overs. Indian bowling unit was in no mood to take it to day 4/5. The attacking approach kept England under pressure and wickets fell in quick succession. The top performances were from Joe Root (30) and Dan Lawrence (50) who has also proved to be a good asset to the team. The quick collapse of the England batting line-up, lead to being bowled out at 135. Axar Patel (24-6-48-5) and Ravichandran Ashwin (22.5-4-47-5) were the two bowlers who lead to this collapse.
India won the match by an Innings and 25 runs! They won the series 3-1. This also ensured their spot in World Test Championship Finals and will be facing New Zealand in June 2021.
Read: India announce themselves in the finals after fighting against all the odds
Moments from the game
- It was Axar Patel’s 4th Fifer in Test match and in debut series. He has picked up 5-fers in each of the 3 test matches he has played in the series.
- Ravichandran Ashwin picked up his 13th Fifer in Tests.
- The spin duo of R. Ashwin and Axar Patel picked up a total of 17 wickets in the 4th test match and a total of 50 wickets in the series.
- The day when the game ended, 6th March, was also the day when Sunil Gavaskar sir completed 50 years since his debut in Test cricket.
- India is the first team to make it to the finals of all three formats of an ICC event. (ODIs, T20Is and Tests).
Fan Corner
One of our followers and a cricket fan, Alok Ranjan was in the stadium on the eventful Day 3 of the 4th test match. He quoted his experience to be “Surreal and Divine”. He was delighted to be there in the stadium which is also world’s largest stadium and experience India’s win live. It was one of the best experiences and he will be cherishing it forever.
We wish you well and more such opportunities, Alok!
Urvi Shah (Author, Beyond the Matches)
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