England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir dedicated his maiden five-wicket haul in professional cricket to his late grandfathers as he geared up for one of the biggest days of his embryonic career.
Bashir, at 20 years and 135 days old, became England’s second youngest bowler to claim a Test five-for in just his second appearance in the format and his eighth first-class match.
His five for 119 in the fourth Test against India in Ranchi helped England claim a 46-run lead after the first innings but a batting collapse has left the tourists with much to do to square the series.
While taking time to reflect on a significant moment in his life, Bashir insisted England remained confident after India closed on 40 without loss, chasing 192 to move 3-1 up in the five-match series.
“It was quite emotional – I lost my two granddads about a year-and-a-half ago and they used to just sit and watch Test cricket all the time,” Bashir said.
“Their wish was to see me out on the TV, I know they’re supporting me from up above. It was a very special moment on my journey. Two years ago, I wouldn’t have thought anything like this (would happen) but that was really special.
“I know I (still) have a job to do and me and Tom (Hartley) are really excited for the challenge.
“We know us two lads are up against a world-class (India) attack but we’ve got a chance to be heroes.
“That pitch is deteriorating quite a bit now. We saw some pop from a good length and some roll. That’s good signs for us.”
England’s approach has been characterised by relentless optimism but they surrendered pole position in the penultimate contest after succumbing to a trial by spin on a turning pitch offering uneven bounce.
Ravichandran Ashwin averaged nearly 39 with the ball in the series before this third day but claimed five for 51, while fellow spinner Kuldeep Yadav was just as impressive as he took four for 22.
Zak Crawley’s dismissal for 60 was the start of England crumbling from 110 for three to 145 all out, having earlier let India add 130 for their last three wickets, led by Dhruv Jurel’s excellent 90.
Bashir, though, was predictably upbeat about England’s chances, despite India openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal going at five an over in the half hour before stumps to leave just 152 more to win.
“India played well; Jurel batted really well towards the end. He probably scored a few more runs than we would have liked but we’re going to bowl them out (on Monday),” Bashir said.
“The pitch is deteriorating massively so anything can happen. It’s 10 chances to take 10 wickets. We saw how Ashwin and (Ravindra) Jadeja bowled on that wicket and we take huge confidence from that.”
Jurel was put down on 59 by Ollie Robinson, who let a head-high chance burst through his fingers, and added another 31 before Hartley spun one sharply past his outside edge and disturbed the stumps.
Jurel marshalling the bowlers in his second Test – sharing important partnerships of 76 with Kuldeep and 40 with Akash Deep – was compared to Mahendra Singh Dhoni by another India great, Sunil Gavaskar.
“It feels great if a legend like Gavaskar gives a compliment like that,” Jurel said.
“I don’t regret a bit on missing (out on) the hundred. It’s my debut Test series, it’s always a childhood dream to play for India in Tests.”
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