England spinners Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley dominated proceedings on the second day of the fourth Test against India in Ranchi. On a surface where the guests posted a total of 353 before being bundled out, hosts India failed to replicate it, at least on the second day of the game. Despite Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring 73 runs, India were reduced to 177 for 7. It was an unbroken 42-run partnership between Dhruv Jurel (30) and Kuldeep Yadav (17) for the eighth wicket that saved India’s blushes on the day.
England’s off-spinner Bashir was the wrecker-in-chief with figures of 4 for 84, while left-arm orthodox Hartley scalped 2 for 47 on the day.
Extremely pleased by the dominance of the England spinners against Indian batters on latter’s soil, former captain of the Three Lions, Michael Vaughan said that that it was “a joy to watch”.
“2 young England spinners confusing Indian players in which way to play in their own backyard is a joy to watch .. I don’t think Bashir has bowled 1 bad ball,” wrote Vaughan on X, formerly Twitter.
2 young England spinners confusing Indian players in which way to play in their own backyard is a joy to watch .. I don’t think Bashir has bowled 1 bad ball .. #INDvENG
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 24, 2024
Young off-spinner Bashir scythed through the Indian line-up with an impressive four-wicket haul that left the hosts stuttering at Stumps on day two of the fourth Test on Saturday.
The 20-year-old Bashir, playing only his second Test, got rid of Shubman Gill (38), Rajat Patidar (17), Ravindra Jadeja (12) on a pitch that has uneven bounce and cracks to rattle the Indian top and middle order.
He returned after the Tea break in his marathon 31-over spell across two sessions to clean up in-form Jaiswal (73) with a ball that skid through the defence of the left-hander.
With intermittent wickets pegging India back, they were forced to play a catch-up game and trailed by 134 runs at the end of play on Day 2.
If it was not for a combative partnership between Jurel and Kuldeep, India would have struggled to cross even 200-run mark.
(With PTI Inputs)
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