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Former star opener Virender Sehwag slammed the England team after their woes on Indian soil continued and they ended up losing the five-match Test by series 4-1 on Saturday at the HPCA Stadium.
India's all-rounded batting display along with Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin's spin masterclass helped the hosts register a thumping victory by an innings and 64 runs. While India dazzled in all facets of the game, England fell short in all departments. Their lack of attentiveness in the field allowed India to pick up boundaries. Their batters struggled to string up meaningful scores with a few exceptions while the bowling department also wrestled hard to find consistency. Sehwag gave his take on England's performance and wrote on X, "Bazball, Batti Gull. There needs to be a method to madness. England simply didn't have the game to match and looked clueless, particularly after the second test match. The captain failing miserably only added to their woes and they simply looked like living in an illusion. For this method to succeed, there needs to be a method to madness, which England severely lacked." https://x.com/virendersehwag/status/1766392423960527014?s=20 Former India cricketer Venkatesh Prasad heaped praise on the hosts and criticised the performance of Ben Stokes as the leader of the team. "Wonderful win for Team India. England have been miserable and for all the hype neither could entertain nor compete. Ben Stokes failed as a leader, a specialist batter averaging below 20 means playing as a specialist captain and failed at that. For India everyone stepped up, but for me this was the coming of age for Kuldeep Yadav. Had been unlucky earlier to miss out on a spot but kudos to the team management for having faith in him and he has been incredible to watch," Prasad wrote on X. https://x.com/venkateshprasad/status/1766395102308847964?s=20 The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah hailed the Rohit Sharma-led team for their clinical performance in the fifth Test. "Fantastic victory for Team India in the 5th Test in Dharamsala, securing the Test series against England by 4-1. Our bowlers, @ashwinravi99 and @imkuldeep18 delivered classy performances, taking 9 and 7 wickets respectively. Brilliant leadership skills by @ImRo45 and his century played a crucial role in guiding the team with strategic brilliance. @ShubmanGillput on a fine show with a mindblowing century. Congratulations to the entire squad and the support staff on this outstanding series victory," Shah wrote on X. https://x.com/JayShah/status/1766433426192679112?s=20 Coming to the fifth Test action, England won the toss and after opting to bat first were bundled out for 218 in their first inning. Kuldeep Yadav (5/72) and Ravichandran Ashwin (4/51) topped the bowling charts for India. India scored 477 runs in the first innings. England had a deficit of 259 runs as they began their second inning. 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 were bundled out for 195. England lost the series 4-1. 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. (ANI)
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