India have a strong command over the fourth Test match against England at the end of Day 3. The hosts ended the day at 40/0 while chasing down 192 runs and needing 152 more runs to win the match and the series. However, spinner Shoaib Bashir believes that the visitors will bowl out the hosts on Day 4 and win the match. Bashir picked up a five-wicket in the first innings and became the second youngest English bowler to take a five-wicket haul in Tests.
Chasing has not been easy in the IND vs ENG Test series so far. The team chasing down in the past three games have ended up on the losing end. India were not able to chase down 230 odd runs in the first Test and lost the match after getting bowled out on Day 4.
Shoaib Bashir’s bold claim of winning fourth IND vs ENG Test
“India played well. Jurel batted really well towards the end. He probably scored a few more runs than we would have liked but we’re going to bowl them out (on Monday),” Bashir said.
A bold declaration from Shoaib Bashir as England look to beat India in the fourth Test in Ranchi on Sunday 💬#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/Mzfipcax0U
— Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) February 25, 2024
“I know I have a job to do [on Day 4] and me and Tom [Hartley] are really excited for the challenge,” Bashir said after the third day’s play in Ranchi, when he picked his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. “We know us two lads are up against a world-class team but we’ve got a chance to be heroes.
“That pitch is deteriorating quite a bit now. We saw some pop from a good length and some roll. That’s good signs for us.
“The pitch is deteriorating massively so anything can happen. It’s 10 chances to take 10 wickets. We saw how Ashwin and Jadeja bowled on that wicket and we take huge confidence from that.”
England displayed a flop show in their second innings and were wrapped up for 145 runs despite gaining a first-innings lead. The Indian spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja spun a web around the England batsmen and picked up all ten wickets.
Ravichandran Ashwin started things off for India when he removed Ben Duckett for 15 runs by getting him caught to forward short-leg, Sarfaraz Khan. The veteran off-spinner struck again the very next ball getting rid of English vice-captain Ollie Pope for a golden duck. Ashwin added insult to England’s injury when Joe Root, who was the centurion in the first innings wasn’t not able to continue his magic and got trapped in front for 11 runs.
After Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed the English top order, Kuldeep Yadav took charge and began his hunt for wickets by getting rid of opener Zak Crawley for 60 runs by a beauty. Ben Stokes was cleaned up by Kuldeep for 4 runs whereas Jonny Bairstow was removed by Ravindra Jadeja for 30 runs on the first ball after the Tea break.
Kuldeep Yadav continued his exploits against the English batsmen and removed Tom Hartley by getting him caught at long-on to Sarfaraz Khan for 7 runs. Ollie Robinson wasn’t able to repeat first innings performance and got out for a duck after being caught in front by Kuldeep.
Ravichandran Ashwin closed out the English innings by taking the last two wickets of Ben Foakes and James Anderson for 7 and 0 runs, respectively. Finally, England could only manage 145 runs and gave India a 192-run goal to chase in their second innings.
Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal ensured that India played the remaining 8 overs of Day 3 without losing any wickets and went after the England bowlers. Rohit remained unbeaten on 24 runs from 27 balls, whereas Yashasvi Jaiswal was not out on 16 runs off 21 balls.
The Indian squad will look to chase down the aim while also winning the five-match series 3-1. However, there is still a lot to play in the fourth Test match, as India will face stiff opposition from the English spinners in pursuing the mark on day four.
