India’s home dominance continued as Rohit Sharma’s squad secured a hard-earned five-wicket victory over England in the fourth Test, marking their 17th consecutive series win on home soil. This triumph served as a stark reminder of the limitations of England’s one-dimensional strategy, affectionately dubbed as ‘Bazball’.
Starting the day at 40/0 in pursuit of 192, India overcame stumbling blocks to secure victory. Captain Rohit Sharma (55 off 81 balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37 off 44 balls) set a solid foundation with their 84-run opening partnership. Despite tense moments after their dismissals, Shubman Gill (52 not out) and Dhruv Jurel (39 not out) guided India across the finish line with an unbeaten 72-run partnership.
Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley (1/64) took the prized scalp of Rohit, while Shoaib Bashir was the most successful English bowler, scalping 3/79 in the second innings for a match haul of eight wickets.
India leads 3-1 in the series with the last game scheduled in Dharamsala from March 7. The team’s last home series loss was a 1-2 defeat to an Alastair Cook-led England in 2012-13. Since then, India has won 39 out of 50 Tests at home.
The victory marked a stunning downfall for ‘Bazball’, now facing criticism for being too rigid and lacking depth.
Conceptualized under Brendon Mc Cullum as coach and Ben Stokes as captain, England’s plan to attack irrespective of circumstances found its match in India’s unflappable approach.
The opening loss in Hyderabad was expected to unsettle the home side, but the team was galvanized by the arrival of rookies, who seized their opportunities.
On Monday, Rohit and Jaiswal started positively. Rohit brought out his swat flick to dispatch James Anderson for a maximum over wide long-on.
With nothing going their way, Stokes brought in Joe Root to unsettle the rhythm, exploiting the rough against the Indian left-hander. Jaiswal failed to control his shot, and Anderson took an absolute stunner with a forward diving catch at backward point.
Stokes operated with spinners Bashir and Hartley, who did a decent job in stopping the run flow. Hartley finally rewarded for his spell with the prized scalp of Rohit.
Bashir raced to his eight-wicket match haul by sending back Jadeja and Sarfaraz Khan off successive deliveries after the lunch break. Despite this, Gill and Jurel steadied the ship.
Jurel’s lovely cover drive off Bashir brought relief, and the Indian victory did not seem remote anymore. Gill joined in the party smashing Bashir for back-to-back sixes.
