After an extraordinary series of events in the Third Test which saw the game being concluded in just two days, India and England faced off each other again in the 4th and final test of the series at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
India came into the game with a 2-1 series lead and a win or a draw will be enough for their qualification in the World Test Championship against New Zealand in England in June. England were out of the contention of qualification themselves, but knew a win or a draw would ensure qualification for Ashes rival Australia and knock India out.
A number of comments were made about the pitch by local and foreign experts. In the previous game, the pink ball turned a lot on the surface making it an idle platform for spinners but such thing would damage the reputation of the game said experts.
England won the toss and elected to bat first. The pitch was different from the previous game, with brown surface making it a perfect batting track. England made two changes with Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer being dropped with Dan Lawrence and Dom Bess coming in. Whereas India made one change with Jasprit Bumrah been given rest as Mohammed Siraj came into his place.
It looked like Spin would once again be the main rival for the visitors when previous encounter's hero Axar Patel picked up two quick wickets and dismissed both the openers Crawley and Sibley quickly.
Suddenly England found themselves in huge trouble again when Captain Joe Root departed after just 9 balls. Siraj got the better of him through an LBW and England were 30/3 in just 12.1 overs.
Johnny Bairstow and Ben Stokes then saw off the rest of the first session. The duo added a 48 run partnership before Bairstow was jugded LBW by Siraj just after the lunch break.
England would go on to score 70 runs in the second session in 31 overs losing just 2 wickets but those two wickets were Bairstow and Ben Stokes. Stokes after completing his half Century, became the victim of Washington Sundar as he was also judged for an LBW. He added crucial 55 runs to the scoreboard from his bat.
In the last session England managed 61 runs but were bowled out as they lost their 5 wickets within 10 overs. Patel picked up 2 more, while Ravichandran Ashwin picked up 3. Dan Lawrence contributed 46 for side as England were bowled out for 205 in 75.5 overs.
England though did pick up an early wicket as Shubman Gill was dismissed for a duck in the very first over of India's innings. India then managed to see of the rest of the day adding 24/1 in their total in 12 overs and are now trailing by 181 runs.
0 Comments