India’s home supremacy weathered the ‘Bazball’ storm as Rohit Sharma’s men secured a hard-fought five-wicket win over England in the fourth and penultimate Test for a 17th consecutive series triumph in their own backyard here on Monday, handing a harsh reality check to the visitors’ unidimensional approach.
Overnight 40/0 in a chase of 192 here, India romped home after surviving a few hiccups with the opening duo of skipper Rohit Sharma (55 off 81 balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37 off 44 balls) providing the perfect platform for others to build with their 84-run stand on day four of the match.
There were some jitters after the two departed in close succession followed by Rajat Patidar and Ravindra Jadeja’s dismissal but Shubman Gill (52 not out) and Dhruv Jurel (39 not out) guided the side past the finishing line with an unbeaten 72-run partnership.
Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley (1/64) took the prized scalp of Rohit, while Shoaib Bashir was the most successful English bowler, scalping 3/79 in the second innings for a match haul of eight wickets.
It’s been a very hard-fought series, so to come on the right side of it feels very good,” said Rohit in the post-match presentation.
The host team’s victory marked a stunning downfall for ‘Bazball’, which has been a much-hyped winning mantra for England since 2022 and is now facing all-round criticism for being too rigid and lacking in depth.
Conceptualised after the appointment of Brendon McCullum as coach and Ben Stokes as captain, England’s plan to attack irrespective of circumstances found its match in the unflappable approach of the Indians.
While the visitors remained stubborn barring the conservative hundred by veteran Joe Root here, the Indians adapted and refused to be bogged down by