New Delhi, Monday, December 12 – England decision to bat first after winning the toss seemed getting wrong after six of their batsmen were sent back to the crease at a score of 182 on Day 4 of the fourth Test match at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
England team captained by Alastair Cook and having Joe Root, Ben Stokes, the debutant Keaton Jennings, Jonny Bairstow, Adil Rashid, James Anderson, Jake Ball, Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali and Jos Buttler hoped for doing well than before as this was important to win the match in the end. Despite being in extra, Gareth Batty, Gary Ballance, Liam Dawson, Stuart Broad, Ben Duckett, Steven Finn and Zafar Ansari, the players expected England Playing XI to emerge strong.
To some extent, expectations were fulfilled after England put a total of 400 runs for the loss of 10 wickets in 130.1 overs. Mesmerizing innings of Jennings, who scored 112 runs in 1st innings, caught the eyes. Challenges appeared getting big for the Indian skipper Virat Kohli who went with Lokesh Rahul, Murali Vijay, Parthiv Patel, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Cheteshwar Pujara and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the Test that was a do or die game for the opponents. But he not only shrugged off any kind of pressure from building but also imparted role of an anchor by beautifully pocketing 235 runs in 340 deliveries. The players who enjoyed his play while sitting on bench were Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Manish Pandey and Shardul Thakur.
Here is to mention that the start wasn’t good in view of the fact that opener Lokesh Rahul was dismissed by Ali when he was playing at a score of 24 (4 x 4). Cheteshwar Pujara arrived on the crease to help India gain foothold when Murali Vijay was displaying amazing cricket from the other end. The two played crucial knocks, letting the host not develop any stress after the first wicket was lost early. The partnership of 107 runs was broken by J Ball when he got wicket of Pujara, who missed getting a fifty just by three runs. His innings consisted of six fours. However, his dismissal yet not gave England any chance to enjoy as Kohli was present to fetch all attention through his classy play. Vijay and Kohli did a partnership of 116 runs, making things difficult for England bowlers, who were hoping for timely dismissals.
The opening batsmen pocketed a hundred, proving once again his worth in the India squad. A fantastic caught and bowled by Adil Rashid ended Vijay’s stint at a score of 136 attained in 282 deliveries. His fearless play included 10 boundaries and three sixes, which are the most by any batsmen so far in the ongoing Test. England got what they wanted from the start, sending back Karun Nair, Parthiv Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja back to the pavilion at the score of 13 (4 x 2), 15 (4 x 1), 0, and 25 (4 x 2 and 6 x 1), respectively. At a time when the touring team thought that they will not let India gain substantial lead, Jayant Yadav changed the entire story. His partnership of 241 runs with Kohli became the highest 8th wicket stand for the Men in Blue in the longest format. Yadav even became the first Indian batsman to get a ton while performing at no. 9th position.
Kohli, on the other hand, attained another double century, the third for him in 2016. Bowling change did a trick and Adil Rashid got the wicket of Jayant Yadav who was stumped by Bairstow at a score of 104, which included 15 4s. Post his dismissal, Virat’s wicket was caught by J Anderson in an over of C Woakes. Kohli’s innings was studded with 25 boundaries and a six. Bhuvneshwar Kumar wicket to Adil Rashid at a score of 9 (4 x 2) made India’s 1st innings come to an end at 631 runs. Umesh Yadav was not out at 7 runs, which comprised a four too. England innings collapsed on Sunday post Keaton Jennings was lbw by Bhuvneshwar on a naught on the first delivery he faced. Alastair Cook was dismissed in the same manner by Jadeja at a score of 18, which comprised three boundaries.
Eyes were on Joe Root but soon another wicket fell in the form of Moeen Ali, who could not open his account as a result of Jadeja’s good bowling and wonderful catch by Vijay. Root tried his bit to stay on the pitch for as long as possible but Jayant Yadav did not let him convert 77 runs into a century, taking his wicket at a time when India were making all efforts to tighten their grip in the contest more. Root’s knock included 11 4s. Jonny Bairstow – the England wicketkeeper – pocketed a fifty at a stage when the team was struggling to gain ground in any way. Ashwin got wickets of Ben Stokes at a score of 18 and Jake Ball at 2 runs. Buttler, Woakes, Adil Rashid and Anderson were supposed to do well when England came to bat on the final day of the match.
Bairstow resumed his batting with the objective to stay strong and help England avoid getting close to humiliating defeat but that did not happen. He lost his wicket after adding a single in his individual score. Ashwin was on fire. Tail-ender batsmen could not take the way the talented off-spinner bowled in the early minutes of the play today. The 30-year-old right-arm off break bowler got wickets of Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid and James Anderson. The moment Umesh took an easy catch when Anderson was trying to go for quick runs, India were on an elated side. With 19 extras, England total score was 195 runs in 55.3 overs. England’s game was over in just two-over game on Monday.
Ashwin left an impression once more with his six wicket haul. Jadeja got two wickets, while Kumar and J Yadav got one wicket each. U Yadav got no wicket. From August 2015 till now, Virat Kohli won five series being a captain. His records are getting improved match by match. In the fourth Test against England, India won by an innings and 36 runs, claiming series. India also enjoy top rank in Test. With a remarkable victory in Mumbai, Indian team now hopes for 4-0 win in the series in opposition to England by shining at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Virat Kohli was declared Player of the Match for pocketing double century. India and England will play 5th Test from December 16. Since gap of not so many days remains, focus of the hosts will be on resting for some time and getting back to business as quickly as possible.