India clinched a thrilling five-wicket triumph in the fourth Test match over England in Ranchi on Monday, February 26th. This sealed an insurmountable 3-1 advantage for India in the five-Test series.
Set an intimidating target of 192 in the fourth innings on a wicket with plenty of spin and bounce, India’s youthful stars Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel remained composed and cruised to victory.
Here are the top five expert comments following India’s Test victory against England:
1. Sir Geoffrey Boycott
Sir Geoffrey Boycott, a former England opener famed across the globe for his flawless technique in leaving and defending the new ball, ripped on England’s strategy following their defeat in Ranchi.
Sir Geoffrey said that England’s failure to overcome the greatest teams in the world was due to their shambolic batting, which was brought about by the ‘Bazball’ style. In his Telegraph column, he expressed his displeasure with this.
“Bazball has given Test cricket a shot in the arm and England deserve praise for that. At times, I love it. But I love winning more and England have failed to beat the best two teams in the world: Australia and now India. What should really hurt them is that they should have beaten both.”
“The batting cost them winning the Ashes and it lost them the series against India. In this series, they have had odd moments when someone has scored a good hundred. But they have been in isolation and there has been no consistency. Zak Crawley is the one England player averaging over 40. Six of the Indian players have averages higher than 43,”
Sir Geoffrey Boycott
he added.
“I know they all have to buy into the Bazball mantra because that is all they talk about. To play with no fear is good, but at times England were reckless and too cocky about how they were going to smack everybody around. Getting out is part of the game but getting yourself out is silly,” he further elaborated.
Sir Geoffrey Boycott
2. Nasser Hussain
Former England captain Nasser Hussain, who has stuck by the squad through thick and thin, sounded a similar tune when England were humiliated in Ranchi.
On Sky Sports Cricket, he stated that there was no shame in losing to India, but what damaged the Three Lions was a lack of clarity about what they expected from their batting.
“There is no shame in losing to this India side but obviously, like with any Test series and any Test match, you look at key areas where you let the game slip and for me, all of yesterday really.”
“What could have been a 100-run lead ended up being 46 and then in your third innings you don’t know whether to stick or twist and I think England batted in that collapse 26 overs for that 37/5 which, for this side, to go just over one run an over shows they didn’t know whether to stick or twist yesterday.”
Nasser Hussain
3. Michael Atherton
Hussain’s old England colleague, Michael Atherton, a former captain and opener, seemed dissatisfied with his country’s performance on this trip.
Atherton told Sky Sports Cricket that while nobody expected England to win in India, their performances should have been better considering that the hosts were missing many of their key players.
“If I look at this tour, I don’t feel like I can sit here and be unduly critical. I don’t think anyone expected them to come and win here. In general, I feel they played some pretty good cricket.”
“The cricket has been competitive. India know they’ve been in a scrap. But in the end they were not quite good enough. The residual regret over the opportunities missed and the fact India were missing big names like Kohli and Shami and Bumrah here.”
Michael Atherton
4. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar, the ‘God of Cricket’, praised the Indian team for recovering from a difficult position and defeating England comfortably in Ranchi.
Tendulkar took to social networking platform X to share his joy at India’s outstanding performance, praising a few players specifically.
“The score is 3-won! India once again came back from a pressure situation and fought back to win the match. It shows the character and the mental strength of our players. A great first spell in Test cricket for Akashdeep. @dhruvjurel21 was terrific at reading the length in both innings and his footwork was precise. His partnership with @imkuldeep18 kept us in the game in the 1st innings, and his knock in the 2nd innings helped us sail home.”
Sachin Tendulkar
5. Manoj Tiwary
Manoj Tiwary, a former India cricketer and current minister of state for Youth Affairs and Sports in the state of West Bengal, too expressed his delight at India’s outstanding performance in Ranchi.
Tiwary, who has played 12 ODIs and three T20Is for India, took to X to express that the team’s veterans and juniors came together and performed admirably for the victory.
“A fantastic series win for India! Excellent performance by all the juniors and seniors. Captain @ImRo45 led the team incredibly well again. @ShubmanGill played a gem of an innings and Dhruv Jurel is a player to watch out for the future! A phenomenal test match!”
Manoj Tiwary