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, a five-wicket haul on his 100th Test by Ravichandran Ashwin broke the back of England’s batting line-up, handling the Three Lions’ ‘Bazball’ school of cricket one final blow as India won the fifth and final Test by an innings and 64 runs at Dharamsala on Saturday.
India has won the series 4-1. Despite some promising moments and performances by England throughout the series, the Indian bowling and its youth brigade did not let the ‘Bazball’ conquer what was described as the ‘Final Frontier’ for skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum after a lengthy run of success since mid-2022.
England started off the second session at 103/5, with Joe Root (34*) joined by wicketkeeper-batter Ben Foakes.
Foakes, known for playing some serious supporting roles with the bat, ended his innings at just eight runs, while attempting a massive slog sweep but was beaten by Ravichandran Ashwin’s spin. England was 113/6.
Next up on the crease was Tom Hartley, the lower-order batter who, surprisingly, is at the top of the six-hitting charts for England in this series. Hartley managed to occupy the crease for a while and give decent support to Root from the other end.
His 24-ball 20-run knock was ended by Jasprit Bumrah, who trapped him leg-before-wicket. Two balls later, it was Mark Wood’s turn to perish without a run with yet another toe crusher by Bumrah. England was 141/8 in 34.4 overs and India needed two more wickets to hand England an embarrassing innings defeat on day three.
Root reached his half-century in 88 balls, with five fours. The batter found some support from Shoaib Bashir at the other end. The duo looked all but set to take England to the 200-run mark, but Bashir was cleaned up by Ravindra Jadeja for 13. England was 189/9 and 70 runs behind a lead. India needed just a wicket to win.
Kuldeep got the final wicket of the match, getting Joe caught by Bumrah for a fighting 84 in 128 balls, with 12 fours. England was bundled out for 195 and lost the match by an inning and 64 runs.
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