Rohit Sharma Led Young Gritty India Too Hot For England

Picture : BCCI/ X

Team India gave the  ardent fans a reason to cheer after their heart-breaking ICC 2013 World Cup final Loss to Australia even after winning ten matches . The Rohit Sharma led team once again asserted their supremacy at home as they beat England in the fourth Test at Ranchi. To take an unbeatable 3-1 series lead with a final Test match to be played at Dharamsala from March 7 .

It was India’s 17th consecutive home series win . What is astonishing is that the team’s last home series loss was a 1-2 defeat to an Alastair Cook-led England in 2012-13. Since then, India have won 39 out of 50 Tests at home. An impressive record indeed .

What will please Indian cricket in the years ahead is that youngsters grabbed their chances with both hands – wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel with imposrant kvocks in both innings at Ranchi, An emotionallong- awaited debut By Sarfaraz Khan saw him score two fifties in Rajkot. Shubman Gill showed grit and class in steering India home along with Jurel in Ranchi .

But the star of the series was the young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. Who excelled at the top with lots of runs and showed his skills while defending and taking the attack to the opposition when it mattered with his range of strokes all- round the wicket. Ishan Kishan missed a golden opportunity so too was Shreyas Iyer with injury. K L Rahul too found himself out with niggling injury. Fortunately Team India did not miss them much. Ravindra Jadeja at Rajkot smashed a important ton and the middle- order was well looed after. It is highly unlikely that that the Likes of Ajinkya Rahane or Cheteshwar Pujara might feature in the team India Test- line-up.

Absence of superstar Virat Kohli, who took a break for the first time in Test series in his 15 year-old sterling career gave youngsters an opportunity and the team management will be happy that the gambles and the selections had paid off handsomely. The superstar Virat  was quick to congratulate the team on the fantastic win. ‘YES!!! Phenomenal series win by our young team. Showed grit, determination and resilience,’ a delighted Kohli exclaimed on X.

Seasoned spinner Ravichandran Ashwin capped his remarkable career by scalping his 500th Test wicket in the series. It was phenomenal feat. After becoming only the second Indian after Anil Kumble to go past 500 Test wickets. Entering the Ranchi Test, Ashwin was just two wickets behind Kumble’s long-standing record as the highest wicket-taker in India. Ahead of the fourth Test, Ashwin was on 348 wickets from 113 innings in India. Ashwin inched closer to snatching the record with one wicket in the second innings and then leaped past Kumble with two back-to-back scalps in the second innings. While Kumble had 350 wickets in 115 innings, Ashwin now has 351 wickets – making him the highest wicket-taker in Test matches played in India. While Kumble slips to second, Harbhajan Singh lies third on the list with 265 wickets.

Skipper Rohit Sharma will be mighty pleased with the performance of the young side and this augurs well for the future challenges ahead.  Team India Head coach , batting legend Rahul Dravid  too deserves  credit for backing his players. Some of the selections in the Test did not impress many but Dravid stood firm in his decisions and the the team came out on top. The  series win is big one for Rohit Sharma as Test Skipper and Rahul Dravid as Head Coach. Critics will be silent now . The smile on the faces of Dravid and Rohit Sharma after the win at Ranchi said it all . How much the win mattered to the young side. The duo’s next challenge will  be the 2024 T20 World Cup. That though a another format. Till then enjoy this Test series win.