Rajkot: In a veiled dig at England over is ‘Bazball’ style of cricket after India steam-rolled the visitors by a massive 434 runs in the third Test at Rajkot, with a day to spare, skipper Rohit Sharma said staying in the game for all five days was more important than winning in two or three days.
A five-wicket haul by ace all-rounder and first-innings centurion Ravindra Jadeja and top knocks from skipper Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, double centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal and debutant Sarfaraz Khan saw England sink to its knees and surrender to the hosts inside four days.
It’s @imjadeja with the final breakthrough 😎 #TeamIndia win the 3rd Test by 434 runs! 👏👏
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/FM0hVG5X8M#TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/A4juPRkWX8
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 18, 2024
The sparkling victory saw the hosts go 2-1 up in the five-match series.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rohit said, “When you play Test cricket, you do not play it in two or three days. You have to stay in the game for five days. They played good shots (in the second innings) and put us under pressure but we have got class in our squad when it comes to bowling. So obviously the message was to stay calm (after day two). Important that time to stay calm, otherwise you drift. We stuck to our plans on day three, and when those things happen, it is a delight.”
On Jadeja promoted to number five in the first innings and Sarfaraz Khan notching up two half-centuries in his debut Test, the India skipper said, “For this game, we thought he (Jadeja) has so much experience in this format, and scored lot of runs of late. We also wanted left-right batting as well. Sarfaraz being Sarfaraz, we know his quality, we wanted him to have some time before he comes out to bat. We saw what he can do with the bat. By no means is it some long plan with the batting order, we go with what is right for us for that Test match. Including calculating what the opponents’ bowling attack is.”
On what he felt was the turning point of the match, Rohit said, “Lots of turning points. Once we won the toss, that was a good toss to win. We know runs on board is important in India. The lead was also crucial for us. The way we came out to bowl after the English batters’ onslaught, important to stay calm… the bowlers showed a lot of character. Not to forget we did not have our most experienced bowler too (Ravichandran Ashwin who missed the day three due to personal reasons). I was proud to watch the bowlers. Then in our second innings, we knew half the job was done. We wanted to extend the lead, and the two youngsters helped extend. And then finally Jadeja.”
Lavishing praise on young opener Jaiswal, who is in the form of his life in the ongoing series and brought his second double ton in Tests in the second innings at Rajkot, Rohit said, “I have spoken a lot about him. I am sure people outside the changing room have also been talking about him. I want to be calm about him, not talk a lot about him. He has started his career on a high.”
Jaiswal with the biggest mauling of a Mr. Anderson since the Matrix! 🤯#INDvENG #BazBowled #JioCinemaSports #IDFCFirstBankTestSeries pic.twitter.com/WBS4KsnI3V
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) February 18, 2024
Chasing 557, England was bundled out for just 122 runs in 39.4, losing the match by 434 runs. Ravindra Jadeja took 5/41, while Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets. Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah took a wicket each.
Earlier, India secured a 556-run second innings lead, declaring their second innings at 430/4. Following skipper Rohit’s early fall for just 19 runs, young batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill steadied the ship for India with a 155-run partnership for the second wicket, which ended after Jaiswal retired hurt for 104. India ended the day three at 196/2, with Gill (65*) and Kuldeep Yadav (3*).
On day four, Gill and Kuldeep continued to stitch yet another partnership, which ended with Gill heartbreakingly missing his fourth Test ton due to a run-out, scoring 91 in 151 balls, with nine fours and two sixes. Kuldeep also made a solid 27 in 91 balls, leaving India at 258/4. From this point on, Jaiswal resumed his innings with fellow Mumbai star Sarfaraz Khan. Both took the English spinners to cleaners
