For the first time this series, India faced a new set of challenges. In all three Tests before the fourth one, they had taken a lead of at least 100 runs. In Ranchi, England were ahead on the first innings. Chasing the game is something all teams do at times, but for this side inexperienced in certain areas — four players in the XI made their Test debut in the series — this was an unfamiliar situation at this level.
This happened due to two reasons. One, England went from 112-5 to 353 — a recovery which seemed unlikely on a pitch with unpredictably low bounce and a bit of turn. Deliveries keeping low were the concern, more than the ones which spun. Two, India slumped to 177-7. It was a position from where they could have taken a decisive lead.
Showing gumption, application, understanding of the situation and skills suitable for the conditions, the hosts appeared to have wriggled out of the spot by stumps on Day 3 and were looking forward to what could be a series-sealing win. If that happens, the Sunday in Ranchi must rate as the most important day when India fought with their backs to the wall and came up trumps.
Getting closer to the English total was the first challenge and the second was to keep their second innings to as little as possible. India ticked both boxes and found new heroes with the bat in the process. Trailing by 134 runs at the start of the day and eventually conceding a lead of 46, before bundling England out for 145 to set up a chase of 192 to win — both were unforeseen eventualities when Dhruv Jurel walked out to bat with Kuldeep Yadav.
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These were occasions when the character of the team was tested, not just skills, especially while batting. Jurel was playing his second Test and Kuldeep was in an unfamiliar role. The way they blunted the English attack and frustrated them while showing no signs of panic was praiseworthy. England threw at them what they had and everything was resisted.
This calmness under adversity was the feature of the eighth-wicket stand of 76, which was followed by a busy ninth-wicket partnership of 40 between Jurel and Akash Deep, another debutant. It needed technique, temperament, ability and a lot of courage to bat sensibly instead of hitting everything, saying that ‘we have done our and job and have nothing to lose’. They knew the importance of getting closer to 353 and there was no adrenaline-induced let-up in that intensity.
It took a different set of skills to dismantle England’s batting in the second innings. At 110-3, they seemed to have recovered from the early blows inflicted by Ravichandran Ashwin and were proceeding towards a total which might have shut the door on India on a tricky pitch. That’s when experience in the spin department came to the fore.
Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep knew they had to do the job after letting England off the hook in the first dig. They didn’t concede at a brisk rate and brought India back for the second time in this Test. The pitch helped their kind of bowling and they made themselves doubly effective by hitting the right areas more often than not. This was skill plus perfect understanding of the conditions.
And there lies the credit. Unlike in the first three Tests, here they were chasing the game for the first time in this series. The margin for error was minimal and every mistake had the potential of killing the initiative. To be able to hold their nerves and deliver under pressure with a number of not-so-seasoned heads took some doing. A series win will be a just reward if and when that happens.
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