England Tightens Grip with Bashir's Four-Wicket Haul

Ranchi, Jharkhand: England tightened their grip on the ongoing fourth Test match against India after a dominant bowling performance on the second day. Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir wreaked havoc with his lethal bowling, claiming 4 wickets for 84 runs, to restrict India to 219/7 in their first innings.

India's batting faltered from the beginning, with captain Rohit Sharma dismissed cheaply by James Anderson for just 4 runs. However, a promising partnership between Shubman Gill (38 runs) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (73 runs) revived their hopes.

Just when India seemed to be gaining momentum, Shoaib Bashir struck twice in quick succession, dismissing both Gill and Rajat Patidar (17 runs) to derail their progress. Ravindra Jadeja (12 runs) also became Bashir's victim, leaving India in a precarious position at 130/4.

Despite the flurry of wickets, Yashasvi Jaiswal held his ground and reached his well-deserved half-century. However, his dismissal by Bashir for 73 runs proved another setback for India.

Later, England bowlers Tom Hartley and James Anderson chipped in with wickets, dismissing Sarfaraz Khan (14 runs) and Ravichandran Ashwin (1 run) respectively.

However, an unbeaten partnership of 42 runs between Dhruv Jurel (30 runs) and Kuldeep Yadav (17 runs) provided some resistance for India as they finished the day at 219/7.

Earlier, England had posted a commanding total of 353 runs in their first innings, thanks to a brilliant century by Joe Root (122 runs) and a fine half-century by Olly Robinson (58 runs). India's bowling attack, led by Ravindra Jadeja's four wickets, managed to take some wickets but couldn't prevent England from putting up a strong score.

With India still trailing by 134 runs, the onus will be on their lower order batsmen to perform exceptionally well on the third day to avoid a significant deficit. England, on the other hand, will look to capitalize on their bowling momentum and take complete control of the match.