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Young England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir became the first English bowler to grab two fifers at the age of 21 during the third day of the fifth and final Test of the five-match series at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on Saturday.
Bashir registered his fifer during the first session of the third day of the Last Test at Dharamsala. He bowled a total of 46.1 overs where he conceded 173 runs in his spell and bowled five maiden overs. The spinner took the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Paddikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, and Jasprit Bumrah. Other than Bashir, the players who have taken a fifer at the age of 21 are Bill Voce (1), James Anderson (1), and Rehan Ahmed (1). Coming to the match, after winning the toss and opting to bat first, the visitors were bundled out for 218 in their first innings, with Zak Crawley (79 in 108 balls, with 11 fours and a six) top-scored for England, Jonny Bairstow (29), and Joe Root (26) the only notable contributors with the willow. Kuldeep Yadav (5/72) and Ravichandran Ashwin (4/51) topped the bowling charts for India. In their first innings, India again out-batted England by a country mile, with the opening pair of skipper Rohit Sharma (103 in 162 balls, with 13 fours and three sixes) and Yashashwi Jaiswal (57 in 58 balls, with five fours and three sixes), contributing handsomely and putting the English attack to the sword. Debutant Devdutt Padikkal (65 in 103 balls, with 10 fours and a six) and Sarfaraz Khan (56 in 60 balls, with eight fours and a six) also came up with crucial hands. After a mini-collapse, the ninth-wicket pair of Kuldeep Yadav (30 in 69 balls, with two fours) and Jasprit Bumrah (20 in 64 balls, with two fours) raised a 49-run stand to take India to 477, giving them a lead of 259 runs over the visitors. Shoaib Bashir (5/173) was the pick of the bowlers for England while Tom Hartley and the veteran, James Anderson took two wickets apiece. Skipper Ben Stokes also got a wicket off his first ball of the series. England were tasked to cut down on deficit of 259 runs in their second innings. Though Joe Root (84 in 128 balls, with 12 fours) attempted to fight it out for England, he got very little support from the other end. Jonny Bairstow (39 in 31 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and Tom Hartley (20 in 24 balls, with four boundaries) contributed respectable scores, but nothing could help Root avert a disaster as England was bundled out for 195, handing England a defeat by an innings and 64 runs. England also lost the series 4-1. Ashwin ended the match in the first session itself, demolishing the English top-order and ending with a five-wicket haul. Ashwin (5/77) was the pick of the bowlers for India. Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets each, while Ravindra Jadeja got one. After three quick wickets, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root tried to build a partnership. Both of them put on a partnership of 56 runs in which Bairstow played an aggressive role where he scored 39 runs with the help of three fours and three sixes each before going back to the dressing room. The fifth wicket to fall was of skipper Ben Stokes who was able to score just two runs before getting dismissed to veteran off-spinner Ashwin. For India, the highest wicket-taker so far is Ravichandran Ashwin who has snapped four wickets in his spell of 8.5 overs where he has conceded 55 runs. One wicket is grabbed by Kuldeep in his spell of three overs where he has conceded nine runs. (ANI)
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