Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel‘s calm and composed partnership enabled India to overcome nerves on the fourth day and win the Ranchi Test. With that, the hosts have seized an unassailable 3-1 lead and have dealt the Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes era its first Test series defeat.
Resuming from 40/0, India got off to a great start on the fourth morning. While Yashasvi Jaiswal gradually settled into his rhythm and unleashed a variety of shots, as he has done throughout the series, Rohit Sharma whacked James Anderson over wide long-on for an incredible six. India took complete control of this thanks to the openers.
Rohit, who reached 50, was out of luck and seemed to have been stumped by Tom Hartley, but the replays showed that he had in fact managed to edge it behind. India surged from 84/0 to 100/3 when Shoaib Bashir dismissed Rajat Patidar, who was already under pressure, for a duck. After a nervous spell before lunch, Gill and Ravindra Jadeja emerged unhurt, but they faced a daunting job upon return. Soon, Jadeja and Sarfaraz also lost their wickets leaving Jurel and Gill to complete the job.
Jurel and Gill were both able to rotate strikes to eat into the target and play the spinners well on a regular basis. Before this relationship, Gill in particular had shown remarkable maturity in spite of frequently losing partners on the other end. And Gill ultimately hit his maiden boundary off his 120th delivery as he stepped down the track twice in the space of three deliveries to clear the ropes, eventually bringing up his fifty as well, with India just 20 runs from victory at one stage. To round off a fantastic Test match, Jurel, who spearheaded India’s comeback with a superb 90 in the first innings, completed the job in in the next over.
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