Cricket News sort by England tour of India 2021

Ever since the pink ball test between India and England ended in just a couple of days, there has been plenty of talk around the pitch being too spin friendly and completely alien to the tourists. Facts do support this talk, as 28 out of the 30 wickets that fell in this test match belonged to spinners. Neither of the team managed to cross 150 as India were set a paltry target of 49 in the fourth innings to win the test and knock England out of contention of the World Test Championship, which they did without breaking a sweat.

With the debate around the pitch refusing to end, Indian off-spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, on Saturday, hit out at critics, stating that the pitch talk was getting out of hand. The Ahmedabad pitch used for the pink-ball Test has been in focus after the match ended well inside two days. However, according to the Indian off-spinner, the debate should focus around the performance of players and not the pitch, which, according to him, is being stretched beyond limit.

Indian opener Rohit Sharma refused to blame the Ahmedabad pitch after the hosts defeated England by 10 wickets in the third Test of the four-match series. Resuming at 99 for 3, India were restricted to 145 in their first innings as Joe Root claimed a five-for. Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin, however, combined to claim nine second innings wickets as England were rolled over for 81. India got home with 10 wickets to spare in the chase of 49.

After a week-long break, India and England will resume their rivalry when the face off in the pink-ball Test in Ahmedabad from Wednesday. The four-match series is currently locked 1-1. Most of the debate going into the third Test is how the pink ball will behave and also how the batsmen will tackle the twilight period. Discussions are also centering around whether India should go in with two or three spinners.

Rahul Tewatia, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have earned their maiden international call-ups. The trio is part of the Indian squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against England. Kishan’s selection came on the day he hammered 173 off 94 balls, with 11 sixes, for Jharkhand against Madhya Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

England coach Chris Silverwood has cleared the air over the Moeen Ali controversy, confirming that it was the team management’s decision to rest the all-rounder for the last two Tests against India. Silverwood even issued a public apology to Moeen, admitting that his exit was not handed in the proper manner.

Indian captain Virat Kohli and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin praised debutant Axar Patel, who claimed a five-wicket haul on Test debut in the second innings of the second innings of the second Test in Chennai. Patel picked up 5 for 60 as India rolled over England for 164. With the 317-run triumph, India squared the four-match series 1-1.

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Monday gave credit to India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour for his great showing with the bat in recent times. Ashwin slammed his fifth Test hundred on Day 3 of the second Test against England even as a debate raged over the Chennai pitch among former legends. Ashwin’s 106 was the top-score in India’s second-innings score of 286, setting England a target of 482. The visitors crumbled to 53 for 3 in response.

Indian Rohit Sharma made a superb 161 on Day 1 of the second Test against England in Chennai. Rohit slammed 18 fours and two sixes in his innings and featured in a 162-run fourth-wicket stand with vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane (67).