‘Unfriendly’ India dims England’s ‘Bazball’ aura

India has remained Test cricket’s most tourist-unfriendly destination for more than a decade and even England’s gung-ho “Bazball” approach could not change that reality on Monday.

India’s five-wicket win on a spiteful track in Ranchi was not really a cakewalk, thanks to England’s spin attack.

But it fetched Rohit Sharma’s team an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series, consolidating their second place, behind

New Zealand, in the World Test Championship standings.

This was India’s 17th Test series win in a row at home. They last lost a Test series when Alastair Cook-led England beat them in 2012.

For England, who won the opening Test in Hyderabad and have been competitive as well as entertaining in Visakhapatnam and Ranchi it was their first series defeat under captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon “Baz” McCullum.

India will be particularly happy that they clinched the series despite the absence of batting mainstay Virat Kohli (personal reasons) and front-line seamer Mohammed Shami (injury).

Middle order batter KL Rahul missed Tests after hurting himself in the Hyderabad opener, while they rested pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah for the match in Ranchi to manage his workload.

It forced India to field four debutants in the first four matches and three of them wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, batter Sarfaraz Khan and seamer Akash Deep were impressive.

Player-of-the-match Jurel struck 90 in the first innings to kept India alive in the contest and his unbroken 72-run stand with Shubman Gill on Monday helped India to pull off what really was a nervy chase.

“Dhruv Jurel, playing his second game, showed solid composure and calmness. He has got the shots as well and played all round the wicket,” said Rohit

In a match where there were hardly any dull moments, England’s second innings meltdown left India needing 192 runs.

The hosts raced to 84 for no loss before Shoaib Bashir’s triple strikes turned the match on its head, reducing India to 120/5.

But on a pitch where the ball turned sharply and often kept low, Jurel and Gill proved immovable. They gritted their teeth through a 30-over stretch when they could not hit a single boundary in a defensive masterclass on a treacherous track.

Gill, an all-format batter known for his clean hitting, showed immaculate match awareness and did not hit a boundary in his first 119 balls.

When victory was in sight, the right-hander smacked Bashir for two sixes in the same over en route to his 50.

Several former England captains believe England need to temper their “Bazball” approach, but Stokes was happy with the commitment of his teammates.

“The scoreline says India won by five wickets but I don’t think that gives enough credit,” Stokes said.

“The series has shown a lot of talent, for us and India..”

The fifth and final Test, scheduled for Dharamsala, begins on March 7.