During the fourth Test match against England in Ranchi, Rohit Sharma, leading the Indian cricket team, took a moment to mentor the young Sarfaraz Khan on Day 3. With Shoaib Bashir batting, Rohit directed Sarfaraz to field at silly point to put pressure on the batter.
However, Sarfaraz overlooked safety and didn’t wear his helmet, catching Rohit’s attention. Rohit quickly stepped in, reminding Sarfaraz about the importance of safety, advising him, “Hey buddy, let’s not try to be a hero here.” Recognizing the risk, the 12th man promptly provided Sarfaraz with a helmet before play resumed.
Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin displayed his skill by taking five wickets, helping India restrict England to 145 runs on Day 3. This positioned India well, with a target of 192 runs to win the match and the series. At the close of play, India stood at 40-0, with Rohit Sharma leading the charge on an unbeaten 24, supported by Yashasvi Jaiswal, who contributed 16 runs.
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At the start, Zak Crawley, the opening batsman, showed some real guts by scoring a good 60 runs. But after that, England’s batting lineup struggled big time against India’s spinners. Ravichandran Ashwin was especially tough to handle, taking 5 wickets for just 51 runs. Kuldeep Yadav also did his part well, getting 4 wickets for 22 runs.
England kept losing wickets regularly, and eventually, their batting innings came to an end in the last session of the game. Now, it was up to their bowlers to try and even the series by winning this match and pushing for a decisive fifth Test in Dharamsala.
India’s bowlers did a fantastic job, especially after Dhruv Jurel, the wicketkeeper, played a great innings in the morning, scoring a solid 90 runs. Thanks to him, India managed to reduce their deficit after starting the day’s play at 219-7.
England playing 11:
Zack Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes (WK), Tom Hartley, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson and Shoaib Bashir.
India playing XI:
Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Ravindra Jadeja, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep and Mohd. Siraj.