England have conceded an unassailable 3-1 lead to India with a Test match to spare.
As a result, the Three Lions conceded an unassailable 3-1 lead to India in the five-match series. It was their first Test series loss in the ‘Bazball’ era.
Despite the negative outcome, former skipper Michael Vaughan feels it was a great week for English cricket as they have managed to unearth a world-class superstar in Shoaib Bashir.
Playing his second Test, the off-spinner impressed one and will with his exploits in Ranchi, returning with eight wickets across the two Indian innings.
Speaking on Club Prairie Fire's YouTube channel, Vaughan went on to compare Bashir with India’s legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
"It's been a fantastic week for English cricket. One of the great weeks, celebrating another world-class superstar that we've unearthed, Shoaib Bashir. That's what we're celebrating. Second Test match, eight wickets, he's the new Ravi Ashwin, and we've unearthed him. So, we're celebrating a new superstar in English cricket," Vaughan said.
Bashir made his Test debut in Vizag and picked four wickets across both Indian innings. While the 20-year-old was left out of the Rajkot Test, he made a strong comeback in the fourth Test.
Thanks to his five-wicket haul, England bundled out India for 307 in the first innings and took a handy lead of 46 runs.
However, Bashir’s efforts went in vain as India ultimately emerged victorious and secured an unbeatable lead in the series with a match to spare.
The two teams will now meet in the dead-rubber fifth Test in Dharamsala from March 7, and Vaughan expects the Ben Stokes-led side to win the series finale. In fact, he termed England as the better team in the series.
"I think it's going to be a fresh one in Dharamsala, so I expect England to win. They've been the better team in the series, as they were in the Ashes. If you go session by session, England have looked a better team. I'm saying looked a better team, but we don't play series now to win them," Vaughan remarked.