IND vs ENG 4th Test: Top five key takeaways for Team India from Ranchi

The Indian cricket team beat England by five wickets as the Ranchi Test ebbed and flowed on all four days. With this win at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) Stadium on Monday, February 26, India managed to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

There were many key moments which transferred the match from England’s grip to India. Here are the top five of them:

Jurel-Kuldeep Resistance First Innings

Dhruv Jurel had missed out on a fifty in his debut Test in Rajkot. The wicket-keeper batter, who idolises former India skipper MS Dhoni, channelled his inner finisher mentality and, in the home city of his idol, took the responsibility of playing with tailenders and taking India as close to England’s first innings total as possible.

Kuldeep Yadav joined Jurel with India at 177 for 7, trailing by 176. But the two men from Uttar Pradesh showed the shrewd mentality of not giving up their wickets easily. They not only played out the last session of the second day of play but also wore out the new ball to an extent before Kuldeep’s resistance was finally broken by James Anderson.

The 76-run stand for the eighth wicket was the one which gave India a belief that they could win the match.

Ashwin’s Early Strikes

After India managed to narrow the English lead down to 47 runs, it was the early strikes by Ravichandran Ashwin that broke the back of the English batting attack. Ashwin, who got Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope off consecutive deliveries, set the tone for other spinners like Kuldeep and Ravindra Jadeja to follow.

The Indian off-spinner also removed first-innings centurion Joe Root in his first spell before coming back to get the wickets of Ben Foakes and Anderson to claim his first five-wicket haul of the series.

Kuldeep’s Spell Before and After Tea on Day 3

Kuldeep’s spell was a game-changer before and after Tea on Day 3. He was handed the ball after England was looking to take the game away with the fourth wicket partnership between Jonny Bairstow and Jack Crawley.

He took the opportunity with both hands and bowled Jack Crawley with a perfect chinaman delivery for the left-arm spinner. The ball came back in after pitching, and Crawley, being on the back foot, had no time to react. A ball that almost rolled along the carpet and was a leg break for the English skipper Ben Stokes, took his wicket away and once again put England in a difficult situation.

After Tea, Kuldeep removed Tom Hartley and Ollie Robinson, two players who could have put on a stand with Ben Foakes and taken the English lead past 200 and close to 250, which could have been the ideal case scenario.

Rohit- Jaiswal Opening Partnership

Another cog in the wheel for India was the partnership between skipper Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal for the first wicket in the fourth innings. Chasing the target of 192, it was crucial that India had a good partnership at the top because the wicket was always going to favour spinners on the fourth day.

The duo added 40 in the last session on Day 3 and 45 in the first session on Day 4, blunting the English attack and most importantly, reducing the target to nearly 100 from 192. This put India in good stead to chase it down even after having hiccups and losing five wickets for 35 runs.

Gill-Jurel Determination

The determination of Shubman Gill to slow the game down and then make sure that he was the anchor while Jurel took out the singles, worked wonders for India. At 120 for 5, India was struggling, needing 72 to win, having lost its last five wickets for just 35 runs and with English spinners dominating. It was then that Jurel and Gill put together an unbeaten 72 without giving any real chance to the opposition and getting the job done.