England’s 6 ft 4 in off-spinner Bashir wrecks Indian batting with four wickets to put his side in sight of a huge win
India were under the pump. After allowing England to get to 353 on a dicey pitch in Ranchi, India were reduced to 219 for 7 and trailed by a whopping 134 runs when the second day’s play ended.
From here on, this is England’s game to lose, with a 2-2 scoreline going into the final Test looking likely.
The credit for England’s ascendancy in this Test is most unlikely. Shoaib Bashir, the tall — 6 ft 4 in — off-spinner was hardly a candidate to trouble India’s best. Before this tour, Bashir had played six first class matches taking 10 wickets and was hardly the sort to challenge India’s finest, brought up on wearing Ranji Trophy pitches against quality spinners.
And yet, Bashir returned 4/84 from 32 overs, including a marathon spell of 31 overs on the trot that he probably hasn’t bowled at any level of the game. Just how did this happen?
When India wrapped up England’s innings on 353, with Root unbeaten on 122, there was a sense of shoulders drooping. Ollie Robinson had bunted and biffed his way to 58, his highest score in first class cricket.
Then Rohit Sharma went early, feathering a nick off James Anderson. Yashasvi Jaiswal, playing with surety and confidence, allowed the Indian dressing-room some peace of mind in the company of Shubman Gill.
The two added 84 for the second wicket before Bashir struck. Bowling a probing line just outside off, Bashir landed one on a crack and the ball broke in and stayed a touch low to beat Gill’s tap to the leg side.
Rajat Patidar, keen to show that his twin failures in the
