Ben Stokes’ England side will hope to salvage some pride in the fifth and final Test of the bilateral series against hosts India in Dharamsala.
Youngsters Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel guided India to a series-winning triumph over England in the 4th Test at Ranchi on Monday. India outplayed England in a match where Joe Root and Shoaib Bashir made headlines with their stupendous performances for the visitors.
Former England skipper Root ended his low-scoring run with an unbeaten century against Rohit Sharma’s Team India in Ranchi. Root’s teammate Bashir bagged his maiden five-wicket haul in the 1st innings of the 4th Test. Predicting a bright future for young Bashir, former England skipper Michael Vaughan claimed that the visitors have found their Ravichandran Ashwin in the longest format. Branding Bashir as England’s new superstar, Vaughan issued the noteworthy statement following the conclusion of the Ranchi Test.
‘He’s the new Ravi Ashwin’
“It’s been a fantastic week for English cricket. One of the great weeks, celebrating another world-class superstar that we’ve unearthed, Shoaib Bashir. That’s what we’re celebrating. Second Test match, eight wickets, he’s the new Ravi Ashwin, and we’ve unearthed him. So, we’re celebrating a new superstar in English cricket,” Vaughan said on Club Prairie Fire’s YouTube channel.
Tourist-unfriendly: 17th consecutive series win for India
The tourist-unfriendly Indian side handed Stokes’ England its first series defeat under head coach Brendon ‘Baz’ McCullum. The Test series win is also India’s 17th consecutive triumph at home. India last lost a home Test series back in 2012. After taking an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series, Rohit and Co. will meet England in the 5th Test at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on March 7.
Vaughan expects England to win in Dharamsala
“I think it’s going to be a fresh one in Dharamsala, so I expect England to win. They’ve been the better team in the series, as they were in the Ashes. If you go session by session, England have looked a better team. I’m saying looked a better team, but we don’t play series now to win them. I think people have got to understand that the game of cricket has changed in the UK. We don’t play to win them, we play to just bring entertainment, bring joy, and unearth new talent,” Vaughan added.
