The last time India chased a modest but challenging target on a deteriorating pitch with spinners swarming like bees was in Mirpur against Bangladesh in December 2022. On that occasion, India huffed and puffed before collecting the required 145 runs with three wickets to spare.
Monday joined that nerve-wracking Christmas Sunday morning in spirit, and for a fleeting hour it seemed like the result wouldn’t go India’s way. Starting from an overnight 40 for no loss, in pursuit of 192, the home side was reduced to 120 for five, with off-spinner Shoaib Bashir (three for 79) and left-armer Tom Hartley (one for 70) buzzing.
Gutsy, silken-smooth
But a gutsy half-century from Shubman Gill (52 n.o., 124b, 2x6) and a silken-smooth knock from first-innings hero Dhruv Jurel (39 n.o., 77b, 2x4) gave India a 3-1 series win with a Test to spare in Dharamshala. After what was India’s 17th straight home series win — last defeat was the 1-2 reverse to England in 2012-13 — the side is in second spot in the World Test Championship table.
During the match-winning unbroken 72-run association, Gill and Jurel fully embraced the drudgery Test match batting can sometimes be. Gill’s first boundary-breaching hit came after 119 balls; Jurel had hit just one from the first 72.
The jury is still out on Gill’s ability to tackle spin, but he played an assured hand, impressive as he was in the use of his feet. And he hastened the end with two towering sixes, one straight down and the other over deep mid-wicket.
In the morning however, victory seemed not too distant. Overnight batters Rohit Sharma (55, 81b, 5x4, 1x6) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37, 44b, 5x4) chugged along merrily, stretching their partnership to 84.
Leading from the front
The senior pro was the steadier of the two, stepping out to smother the turn, and meeting the ball well forward and well outside the line of the off-stump. But the flicked six over deep mid-wicket off James Anderson was evidence that run-making was also part of his muscle memory.
Jaiswal edged a couple, was involved in a mix-up with Rohit and survived a referral for leg-before. But he didn’t slip into a shell either, the proof being the fierce reverse swept four off Hartley.
However, Joe Root’s dismissal of the southpaw two balls after being introduced, with Anderson taking a diving catch at short-third, and Rohit, dancing down the track only to misjudge Hartley’s length and end up edging to Ben Foakes, produced the first of the discordant notes.
When Rajat Patidar was dismissed for nought, caught at backward short-leg off Bashir, and Ravindra Jadeja steered an innocuous full toss from Bashir to short mid-wicket, even the quaint and usually breezy environs of the JSCA Stadium turned airless and claustrophobic.
The fall and then the rise
Sarfaraz Khan fell first ball to Bashir, with a faint edge bouncing off the pad straight into Ollie Pope’s hands at short-leg. From 82 for no loss after 16 overs, India was 120 for five after 38.2.
Anxiety and self-doubt can mess with the best, and it seemed like they had percolated into the Indian dressing room at an unseemly hour. But by displaying some restrained willow work and by shunning the desire to find a radical solution, Gill and Jurel ensured one of India’s best-ever series wins.
Scoreboard
ENGLAND — 1ST INNINGS: 353 in 104.5 overs.
INDIA — 1ST INNINGS: 307 in 103.2 overs.
ENGLAND — 2ND INNINGS: 145 in 53.5 overs.
INDIA — 2ND INNINGS: Rohit Sharma c Foakes b Hartley 55 (81b, 5x4, 1x6), Yashasvi Jaiswal c Anderson b Root 37 (44b, 5x4), Shubman Gill (not out) 52 (124b, 2x6), Rajat Patidar c Pope b Bashir 0 (6b), Ravindra Jadeja c Bairstow b Bashir 4 (33b), Sarfaraz Khan c Pope b Bashir 0 (1b), Dhruv Jurel (not out) 39 (77b, 2x4); Extras (b-4, lb-1): 5
Total (for five wkts. in 61 overs): 192.
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-84 (Jaiswal, 17.3 overs), 2-99 (Rohit, 25.1), 3-100 (Patidar, 26.2), 4-120 (Jadeja, 38.1), 5-120 (Sarfaraz, 38.2).
ENGLAND BOWLING: Root 7-0-26-1, Hartley 25-2-70-1, Bashir 26-4-79-3, Anderson 3-1-12-0.
PoM: Dhruv Jurel.
India won by five wickets to take a 3-1 lead in the series.
Fifth Test: March 7 to 11, Dharamshala.
