India win the 4th Test by 157 runs,lead the series by 2-1 : IND vs ENG, 4th Test

After 5 days of some grueling Test cricket, India has come out victorious, and how! The toss was in England’s favor and their decision to bowl first was a good one as they had reduced India to 127/7 on day 1. However, Shardul Thakur played a game-changing knock of 57(36) in the final session of the opening day. As a result of his counterattacking knock, India managed to post a respectable score of 191 in the first innings.

In reply, it was a fabulous effort by India to reduce England to 62/5 on the second day of the Test. But England’s lower middle order showed some fight as Pope and Woakes scored fifties as the hosts managed to gain a handy lead of 99 runs. You’d think England had the upper hand at the halfway of the Test, however, the Indian top-order had other ideas.

Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul got the visitors off to a fantastic start in the second innings. Rohit also notched up his maiden century in away Tests and turned the tide in India’s favor. A century to remember for the ages as the opener showed a lot of character. Other Indian batsmen chipped in with useful contributions as well.Pant scored a fifty which will boost his confidence a lot and it also came at a crucial time. And once again it was Shardul who played a pivotal innings as he notched up his second fifty of the match., helping India set a massive target of 368.

With the conditions good enough for batting, England openers got the hosts off to a decent start, with both scoring fifties, however, Shardul came into the attack and got rid of Burns in his first over of day 5. The dot balls by Jadeja and other Indian pacers kept building and England lost the plot after Malan’s run-out. Hameed was cleaned up by Jadeja and that was the start of it all. England kept losing wickets at regular intervals and could never recover from those blows. It was a case of crumbling under pressure as India won by 157 runs to gain an unassailable lead of 2-1.Not to forget Bumrah’s contribution in this Test. Got both the openers in the first innings and bowled a dream spell earlier today as he knocked out Pope and Bairstow in a matter of few overs. A collective team effort, indeed.

What a fantastic game of Test cricket it was!