Spinners keep England’s hopes of unlikely victory alive

Three quick wickets keep Indian run chase on a knife edge after flying start.

England have given themselves hope of an unlikely victory in Ranchi (Ajit Solanki/AP) (AP)

England’s spinners kept alive hopes of setting up a Dharamshala decider with the fourth Test on a knife edge as India lurched from 84 for none to 100 for three, chasing 192.

India’s propulsion to 40 without loss from eight overs at stumps on day three left them needing a further 152, and Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal found boundaries easy to come by on Monday morning.

But, as the run rate dried up, Joe Root snared Jaiswal for 37 before Tom Hartley nicked off Rohit for 55, with Shoaib Bashir then having Rajat Patidar caught bat-pad as India went to lunch on 118 for three – still needing a further 74 runs to move into an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

On a tricky pitch offering turn and uneven bounce, England will remain optimistic they can level things up before heading to the foothills of the Himalayas for the fifth Test, starting on March 7.

Bashir was bullish about England’s prospects of an unlikely win the previous evening, insisting “we’ve got a chance to be heroes” but there was little to crow about early on.

Rohit lofted James Anderson into the stands beyond deep midwicket for six, with even Ben Stokes nodding in admiration, while Jaiswal – the leading run scorer in the series – used conventional and reverse sweeps to take fours off Bashir and Hartley.

But Bashir and Hartley gradually offered more control and when Root came on for one over, he tossed one up to Jaiswal, who was tempted into a big swing but instead miscued to backward point, where a diving Anderson took a fine low catch.

The big fish was Rohit and England’s animated celebrations – particularly Stokes – upon his dismissal told its own tale.

Rohit advanced to Hartley and seemed to be beaten on the outside edge as Ben Foakes whipped off the bails, but it was subsequently found the India captain had got a tickle to the ball.

Seven balls later, the out-of-form Patidar got an inside edge into his pad to Ollie Pope, who took an excellent catch leaping to his right at short-leg, and England were cock-a-hoop.

Harley scuttled one along the ground to Ravindra Jadeja, beating leg stump and rolling away for four byes – India’s first boundary in 11.3 overs. Shubman Gill (18 not out off 62 balls) and Jadeja (3no off 29) went at a trickle but made sure there were no further casualties.