[Revvatron]

Originally Posted by Rahkehs

I knew beforehand that he is not a brilliant batter the PR team makes people believe, seen his batting in IPL and Ranji, smashing low quality bowlers. His case is similar to Prithvi Shaw, there is a lobby of retired players/administrators from a Zone promoting players from their region. If you follow cricket then you must know that much better batsmen are there in Ranji.

I am not going to comment about his talent or technique but I will agree with you on the PR part. On his debut there was insane amount of PR for him which I don't remember seeing for anyone on their debut. He was literally everywhere. All the cameras were focus on his family and their reactions. I don't think even someone like Gill or any other debutant received this amount of coverage .Has anyone else felt this?

[rx100]

Heartbreak for Jural . Wonderful innings under great pressure and bring us back into this game.

[ABHI_1512]

What an enthralling two hours of riveting test cricket ! It’s a pity that Jurel couldn’t get to his well deserved century but then what he did for the team is much more anyways. An absolute beauty got him or else he almost got to his century. It would be very tricky batting in the fourth innings, so the onus is on the bowlers to restrict England now. Either ways, a good game awaits us.

Originally Posted by Rahkehs

As I had mentioned earlier to wait for some difficult situation before judging S. Khan, he failed on a difficult pitch. Most of his runs in Ranji has been against poor bowling and his technique is such that it will be difficult for him to score against good bowlers or average bowlers on difficult pitches.
Dhruv Jurel seems to have good technique and should be backed more!

Sarfaraz Khan scored heavy runs for three consecutive seasons for Mumbai and if they were scored against poor bowling then I would think people with more correct technique should have scored more than him !! He scored heapful of runs to present his case and he got his maiden call up to the Indian team. Let him play for some tests before coming up with this poor technique thing. A player with suspect technique will anyways be found out in the international arena, so let’s give him a fair chance. If Gill can be played with his technique, then I am sure Sarfaraz also must fancy his chance !!

[Revvatron]

England chose wrong time to drop bazball and go into a shell. With pitch even though not bad or unplayable still is a bit of mystery, so why not just go full tilt because they wouldn't have been in a worse situation than this.

[PPS]

I think Selectors should be credited for giving Jurel a chance based on potential & promise. Its not that he has a brilliant List A or T20 record & I believe he only has 1 100 against Mizoram.

Originally Posted by Rahkehs

Most of his runs in Ranji has been against poor bowling and his technique is such that it will be difficult for him to score against good bowlers or average bowlers on difficult pitches.

Agree that Ranji bowlers may not be of the highest quality but you still have to go out there & score runs. In the case of Sarfaraz he's scored truckloads of them! If anything, Iyer sitting at home should watch & learn from Sarfaraz when it comes to playing spin.

Originally Posted by Rahkehs

His case is similar to Prithvi Shaw, there is a lobby of retired players/administrators from a Zone promoting players from their region. If you follow cricket then you must know that much better batsmen are there in Ranji.

Who are these batters better than Sarfaraz at the moment in Ranji?

[NPV]

I missed a good day 3 of the test!
Jurel’s inning was worth its weight in gold to help keep the lead to just over 50. He was unlucky not to get to his century.

I had stepped out and by the time I returned, England have collapsed to Ashwin’s guile and India are 40/0. Unless there’s a total collapse tomorrow, I don’t see India losing this now

[ValarMorghulis]

I don't know how you guys manage to watch such tense matches... I literally don't even check scores because every time I did a wicket fell...

Did not even check India's score once today but did often during Eng's batting

[schumi_pete]

Ashwin has truly insane numbers when opening the bowling in Test matches. He has 16 five fors when opening the bowling and has taken 170 wickets at an average of 19 in the 51 innings when he has opened the bowling. The only other spinner who has taken over 100 wickets opening the bowling was Rangana Herath from Sri Lanka.

Out of those 170 wickets, 50 have come in the first 10 overs and it goes up to 125 if the cutoff shifts to 20 overs. Since Ashwin's debut in 2011, apart from Ashwin himself, only Broad and Anderson have taken over 100 wickets in the first 20 overs in Test matches.

Truly staggering numbers from one of the all time great bowlers.

[AtheK]

Ashwin has also Eclipsed another record of Kumble today! Legend of the game.

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.

[jkrishnakj]

Did any of you face buffering issues on jio cinema? I just couldn't watch it over TV today and had to resort to watching the game from the small mobile screen. It didn't buffer in the mobile.

Regardless, I can't wait for us to finish winning this test before lunch tomorrow.

[harry10]

Jurel was awesome. The temperament this boy has shown in his only second match is an inspiration to all upcoming players. Unlucky to miss that 100 but that ball was a beauty.

So happy for Ash. He hasn't been himself maybe because pitches were flat or something else but still picking 17 wickets in the series till now speaks volume about his class. Today he was on the money from start.

[pandey.jai]

Great performance by the bowlers today. India still not out of the woods yet - I saw a stat that said something about India being successful only a handful of times while chasing more than 150 in the 4th innings in India in the past few years.
Now there’s likely a bit of context on the number of times India were required to chase total in excess of 150.

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

.. I literally don't even check scores because every time I did a wicket fell...

Did not even check India's score once today but did often during Eng's batting

Not the pitch, not the bowling, but here’s India’s secret weapon against the English. Please skip tomorrow’s play

[Shumi_21]

To exceed expectations when tasked with rescuing your team from conceding a huge lead in just your second match was a superb superb effort from Jurel. There will be a lot more coming from him in the future, he's got a good head on his shoulders too.

I felt it was Kuldeep who turned the match in our favour. He batted 130 odd balls himself, giving confidence to Jurel to unleash a few sixes at the other end. And then returned to deliver a stunning bowling performance. Kept beating the bat, with a little more luck, he would have had 7 or 8 wickets. Rohit too played his part in trapping Crawley & Bairstow, both of whom were looking fluent.

The opening partnership has to get as many as possible of the 152 runs needed to win this game, especially with a shaky Gill & Patidar to follow. Backing Rohit to blitz away while the ball is hard and new.

Originally Posted by harry10

So happy for Ash. He hasn't been himself maybe because pitches were flat or something else but still picking 17 wickets in the series till now speaks volume about his class.

Ash said he's been having some issues with his (left?) knee. His 5-fer is even better in that context!

[padmrajravi]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Did any of you face buffering issues on jio cinema? I just couldn't watch it over TV today and had to resort to watching the game from the small mobile screen. It didn't buffer in the mobile.

Regardless, I can't wait for us to finish winning this test before lunch tomorrow.

I faced the same symptoms yesterday. Tried switching to my second home wifi and the TV still would buffer now and then. And when it buffers, it starts from where it stopped, and you end up lagging by a few seconds. Watched it on Jiocinema Mobile after fumbling a few times.

Enjoyed the miraculous recovery from Jurel and Kuldeep yesterday. Jurel seems like a great long term option. This is what makes Test cricket special. There is no other team sport that unveils like a battle with such kind of recovery possible. Such possibilities are not there in T20 or ODIs. It is only in tests that a slow patient innings by tailenders can put the pressure back on the dominant team. Our new-found dominance in tests, whether away or home, is because of the batting prowess of our best strike bowlers - Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, and sometimes Bumrah, Shami. The number of tests they have rescued with their batting skills is significant. Of course, we don't need them when the top order performs well. But we have won so many tests now even when the top order messed up and these guys resisted a complete downfall in the first innings, allowing us to come back in the second innings.

[AtheK]

From cruise control and doing 99-1 we are down to 100/3, Patidar career as test player is done and dusted.