India

Australia captain Steve Smith won the coin toss and elected to bat on Thursday, as the tourists seek a victory to level the four-game Test series at 2-2, having won the third Test in Indore by nine wickets. Both captains indicated they would have batted first if they won the toss.

India skipper Rohit Sharma added that the Ahmedabad pitch is "not a surface which we saw in the first three Tests" which were dominated by spin.  

Australia maintained their three-spinner approach, with Nathan Lyon, Matthew Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy, alongside left-arm quick Mitchell Starc and all-rounder Cameron Green.

The hosts have already retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy but can seal a place in the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia if they win the fourth Test.

Australia captain Steve Smith won the coin toss and elected to bat on Thursday, as the tourists seek a victory to level the four-game Test series at 2-2, having won the third Test in Indore by nine wickets. Both captains indicated they would have batted first if they won the toss.

India skipper Rohit Sharma added that the Ahmedabad pitch is "not a surface which we saw in the first three Tests" which were dominated by spin.  

Australia maintained their three-spinner approach, with Nathan Lyon, Matthew Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy, alongside left-arm quick Mitchell Starc and all-rounder Cameron Green.

The hosts have already retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy but can seal a place in the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia if they win the fourth Test.

India welcome the Proteas for what will be the teams' final white-ball multi-game stand prior to the tournament in Australia later this month.

Bumrah, the International Cricket Council's number-one ranked bowler in the 50-over format as recently as July, has been ruled out with a reported back stress fracture.

That has seemingly opened the door for Shami, who faces a race to prove match fitness following a bout with Covid-19, though coach Rahul Dravid has hinted the team may wait as late as they can for him.

"In terms of who the replacement is, we'll have a look," he stated. "We'll see, we've got time till October 15.

"Shami obviously is someone who's in the standbys, but unfortunately for us, he couldn't play this series, which would have been ideal from that perspective.

"He's in the NCA at the moment. We'll have to get reports as to how he's recovering, and what's his status after 14-15 days of Covid.

"We'll take a call, once I get reports on how he's feeling, then we can take a call and the selectors can take a call on how we move forward on it."

South Africa's Rilee Rossouw, meanwhile, hopes that the springboard of a consolation win in the pair's T20 series can help push the Proteas on towards success over the coming weeks.

"Obviously [it is] not the series result we wanted but going into the World Cup, the last game, the momentum is something we did we need," he added.

In-form hosts seek to reverse prior defeat

With seven consecutive wins in the 50-over format to their name, India head into this match in their best form since 2017.

Then, they put together a nine-game winning run across ODIs, and this three-game series presents both the chance to smash that history and make amends.

South Africa have been difficult opponents in recent times for India, with the Proteas having won their last three encounters, and four of their last five bilateral series.

In addition, they will be looking to avoid consecutive away losses in ODIs for the first time since 2019, having suffered a 118-run defeat to England in their last such outing.

Spin bowler Tabraiz Shamsi is eyeing up the half-century mark when it comes to wickets in the format

Kuldeep Yadav is also seeking to make history with the ball, as he chases 19th on India's all-time ODI wicket-taker list, with four more set to take him past Ishant Sharma's tally of 115.

An England victory appeared most likely when India resumed on 181-6, ahead by 154 in their second innings – and certainly when Ollie Robinson (2-45) removed the dangerous Rishabh Pant (22) and Ishant Sharma (16) with the lead still below 200.

But seamer Robinson found himself out in the middle with bat in hand in the final hour alongside Jos Buttler as England lurched to seven down.

The turning point came when Jasprit Bumrah (34 not out) joined Mohammed Shami (56 not out) in an unlikely and unbroken ninth-wicket alliance of 89 before India declared on 298-8.

Shami crashed six fours and a huge six off Moeen Ali brought up his maiden Test fifty. Bumrah's 64-ball effort was also a career best and his very presence was arguably pivotal in England losing any semblance of composure.

The apparent desire for retribution after Bumrah gave James Anderson a working over appeared to outweigh to required cold-headed pursuit of the final two scalps of a tail that looked very inviting on paper.

Virat Kohli declared early in the second session and England's victory target of 272 became completely nominal after Rory Burns and Dom Sibley became their country's first openers to each fall for ducks in the same innings of a home Test.

Bumrah (3-33) had Burns caught off a leading edge in the first over and Shami (1-13) had Sibley caught behind. Haseeb Hameed at least occupied 45 deliveries for his nine but fell leg before to Ishant (2-13) and Jonny Bairstow perished in the same fashion on the stroke of tea.

England were staring down the barrel when captain Joe Root – again top scorer with 33 – edged Bumrah to Kohli at slip, The India skipper also pouched Moeen (13) before Mohammed Siraj (4-32) subjected Sam Curran to the first ever Test king pair at Lord's, although his drop when Buttler was on two looked like it might be key.

The white-ball master played with impeccable restraint for his 25 but lost Robinson lbw on review to Bumrah with 9.1 overs remaining and feathered a beauty behind three balls later from Siraj, who finished the job by emphatically bowling Anderson.

Familiar problems as Root fights a lone hand

Burns and Sibley's unwanted slice of history took them on to nine ducks between them in 2021 – the same amount suffered by Alastair Cook in his 161 Test career. The recalled Hameed also went for nought in the first innings and Bairstow's departure ensured Root was the only member of the top five to reach double figures. India's fast bowlers operated at a high level once again, but it is an utterly unacceptable return.

Pacemen give India a new dimension

India took a huge step towards a long-awaited series victory in England and should they finish the job over the next three Tests, their four-pronged pace attack will have had plenty to do with it. If the morning was about Bumrah and Shami's thrilling abandon, the conclusion was the story of four experts of their craft working in tandem to give an overmatched batting line-up no prospect of escape.

It is a defeat to rank among the ignominy of Adelaide 2006 and Trinidad 1994 for England and it feels virtually impossible to see Root's men plotting a recovery from here, having crumbled on the back of three days painstakingly working their way into the ascendency.

South Africa, trailing 1-0 in the series, started the day on 35-1 and added a further 53 runs before captain Dean Elgar was dismissed by Thakur for 28.

Keegan Petersen looked to steady the ship by top-scoring for the hosts with 62 off 118 balls, but Thakur soon ended his resistance and Rassie van der Dussen (1) was the India all-rounder's next victim.

Temba Bavuma posted 51 from 60 deliveries and Kyle Verreynne went for 21, as did Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj, as India limited their opponents to a 27-run first-innings lead in their search for a first-ever series win in South Africa.

Thakur's figures of 7-61 are the best by an Indian bowler against the Proteas, surpassing the previous high of 7-66 set by Ravichandran Ashwin in 2015.

"Whenever I'm given an opportunity to play for India I am always up for it, especially in Test cricket," Thakur said. "These are my best figures but my best is still to come."

The tourists, without regular captain Virat Kohli because of injury, had K.L Rahul (eight) contentiously dismissed early on in their response and fellow opener Mayank Agarwal (23) did not last much longer before being trapped lbw.

But Cheteshwar Pujara's unbeaten 35 and 11 runs from Ajinkya Rahane, who also survived the rest of the session unscathed, ensured India will start day three on 85-2.

Sensational Shardul

If India hold their nerve and claim a first series win in South Africa, they will undoubtedly have Thakur to thank after this inspired display.

Only Lance Klusener (eight wickets) and Dale Steyn (7-51) boast better bowling figures in Test matches between these nations.

History in sight for India

All of Thakur's hard work was nearly for little as India lost stand-in skipper Rahul and Agarwal, with the latter having hit five fours in his 23 before carelessly failing to offer a shot to a Duanne Olivier delivery.

The tourists will now hope for a strong stand from Pujara and Rahane if they are to put some distance between themselves and South Africa in pursuit of a third successive away Test victory outside of Asia, something they have never previously managed.

Sharma became India's top scorer in T20Is, with his knock of 92 taking him to 4165, leapfrogging Virat Kohli's record of 4103.

After a strong batting performance, India smothered what looked like a spirited chase by Australia to win by 24 runs and set up a meeting with England in the next round.

Sharma admitted he was confident heading into the match and backed himself to outsmart Australia’s bowlers.

That's what I have to do at the top of the order, see what the bowlers are trying to do and play accordingly," Sharma said.

"There was a strong breeze and I needed to be smart. I was backing myself to do that.

"You've got to factor in the breeze and the bowlers are smart as well. They won't bowl into the wind, and you can't be one-dimensional.

"You have to access all sides of the field. It's been a good wicket and that's something you want to do as a batter, and you want to back yourself as a batter to play those shots.

"Getting the century didn't matter. I wanted to bat with the same tempo throughout and put the bowlers under pressure.

"You want to make big scores, yes. But you also want the bowlers to wonder where the next shot is going to come from."

Meanwhile, Australia's World Cup fate is now out of their own hands.

If Afghanistan beat Bangladesh in the later game, Australia will be knocked out, though even a big Bangladesh win would knock them out on net run rate.

"Yeah, it's so disappointing," Mitchell Marsh said. "We know we still have a chance to make the semis but today, India got the better of us.

"Over 40 overs there are a lot of small moments that you can think you could have done things better. But they got off to a flyer. Rohit Sharma is very hard to stop when he's in that mode. He deserves all the credit for that.

"We knew that if we kept up with 10 an over for as long as possible, we were in the game. But India have some class bowlers, and they were too good for us today.

"Come on Bangladesh!"

Sharma's team batted first and found themselves at 89-5 after Hardik Pandya was caught by Dawid Malan off the bowling of Chris Jordan.

This brought Ravindra Jadeja to the crease, and he smashed 46 runs off 26 deliveries to help India set England a total of 171 runs to win.

England's chase was quick to falter though, with Jason Roy getting out with the first ball of the innings after an impressive delivery from Bhuvneshwar Kumar was hit to slip by the opener.

The captain Jos Buttler was quick to follow after scoring only four runs, and the poor performance from England's top order was telling as they ended up all out for just 121.

Sharma was quick to praise his side after they claimed victory in the series ahead of the final game at Trent Bridge on Sunday.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Sharma commented: "We knew we were up for a challenge against them, but again we came out and were quite clinical in what we wanted to do.

"And clear-minded as well, with what we wanted to execute with the bat and with the ball as well.

"When you win games it's always nice, you feel confident. There's a lot of confidence amongst the group, which to me is quite important.

"I really wanted to see how we perform after a win, and we want to keep continuing to do that and see how we can challenge us more and more as a group."

Sharma gave particular acclaim to Jadeja after his crucial innings, adding "Jadeja with his experience, recently getting a 100 on this ground as well, he seems to be confident in what he wants to do.

"At no given point did we feel that he was panicking, given the experience that he has.

"It was good to finish off on a score which I thought was par on that pitch, and then we were quite clinical with the ball."

Pant struck 109 from 128 deliveries to help India on their way, with Ravichandran Ashwin also starring with both a hundred and a five-wicket haul in the second innings.

But the triumph highlighted Pant's remarkable return to the red-ball format, with his sixth Test hundred making him India's leading centurion in the format among wicketkeepers, along with MS Dhoni.

Sharma showered praise on Pant upon his return to action after a horrific car crash in December 2022, highlighting his team-mate's love for Test cricket. 

"He's been through some really tough times," Sharma said.

"The way he has managed himself was superb to watch. He came back in the IPL, followed by a successful World Cup, and this is the format he loves the most.

"It was about giving him the game time. Credit to him, he had an impact straight away. No matter what the conditions are, we want to build the team around that."

Meanwhile, Ashwin etched his name into the history books with his all-round brilliance at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. 

He became the oldest player to score a century and take at least five wickets in the same Test match, breaking Olly Umrigar's 62-year-old record.

Ashwin took six wickets overall in the second innings, but he insisted that records and accolades come secondary to his bowling displays. 

"No, I don't keep track of player of the match awards. Every time I play in Chennai, it's an amazing feeling," Ashwin said. 

"I've watched a lot of Tests, international cricket in those stands, to do it in front of those renovated stands is great.

"It was an opportunity to fight, dig in deep. I've seen so many team-mates do it in the past. Was a special innings, didn't sink in till day two.

"I make a living by bowling, so bowling comes first.

"I think like a bowler naturally but have focused my thoughts with batting. The compartmentalisation is a work in progress."

India have suffered with maintaining the health of their pace options over the past few years, with players struggling to complete full tours.

Deepak Chahar is the latest India seamer to be sidelined, after suffering a left hamstring injury during the Indian Premier League game between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.

Players are rehabilitated at the BCCI's National Cricket Academy, but Shastri has now questioned just how effective the team's recovery methods are, given their high turnover of problems.

"Let's put it this way: there are quite a few in the last three or four years who are permanent residents of the NCA," Shastri told ESPN's T20 Time:Out.

"Soon, they'll get a resident permit there to walk in any time they want, which is not a good thing at all. It's unreal.

"You're not playing that much cricket to be injured again and again. If you are going to come back, make sure you get fit and come once and for all because it's frustrating not just for the team, the players, the BCCI, the captains of the various franchises.

"I can understand a serious injury, but every four games when someone touches his hamstring or someone touches his groin, you start thinking what are these guys training. Some of them don't play any other cricket. It's ridiculous.

Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Mohsin Khan and Yash Dayal are among the other pace options India have seen injured to varying degrees in recent months.

Bumrah, in particular, attempted an unsuccessful comeback before conceding the need for surgery in March.

Kohli has been given a break after failing to end his run drought on the tour of England last month, only managing a top score of 20 from six innings.

The ex-skipper has not made an international hundred since he reached three figures in a Test against Bangladesh in November 2019.

Kohli was recalled for the Asia Cup and is set to be back at the crease in a clash with fierce rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

Former India captain Shastri thinks the 33-year-old batter can reap the rewards of taking some time off.

Shastri said: "It is not rocket science. Mental fatigue can creep into the best in the world. This down time was not just needed for his body but to reflect.

"He will come back with a much calmer mind. He gets 50 in the first game, mouths will be shut. Public memory is very short and works both ways.

"There is no cricketer fitter than him. People keep saying one innings can make a difference, but with a player like Kohli it makes a massive difference.

"His hunger and passion remains undiminished. He would have learnt from this phase, let me tell you that."

India head coach Rahul Dravid was unable to fly out to Dubai with the squad on Tuesday after testing positive for coronavirus.

The tourists were totally humiliated in the series opener at Adelaide Oval, capitulating to their lowest ever Test total of 36 all out in the second innings.

Virat Kohli returned home for the birth of his first child after that chastening defeat, while India also lost paceman Mohammed Shami for the remainder of the series with a fractured arm.

Stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane led by example in Melbourne, though, scoring a magnificent century to put his side on top after Australia made just 195 in the first innings.

Tim Paine's side were then bowled out for 200 on day four and India sealed an eight-wicket win after being set just 70 to level the series at 1-1.

Shastri said the tourists, who also lost Umesh Yadav to injury in the second innings, deserve massive credit for the way they responded to such a crushing loss.

The 58-year-old said: "I think this will go down in the annals of Indian cricket - no, world cricket - as one of the great comebacks in the history of the game.

"You know to be rolled over for 36 and then three days later to get up and be ready to punch was outstanding. The boys deserve all the credit for the character they have shown. Real character."

Shastri said there was no need for an inquest after the painful loss in Adelaide.

"[There was] No chat. And when we arrived in Melbourne, it was the things we have got to do to get up and fight," he said.

"We had a lot of positives in Adelaide but at the end of the day it is the result that counts. We were blown away in the second innings in one hour. So when you are blown away, you are blown away.

"There is nothing you can do about it than to get up and fight, which we did in this Test match.

"To beat a team like Australia, especially in Australia, there is no point having one good day or two good days, you have got to have five good days to beat them. As simple as that."

Shastri was full of praise for Rahane, who was unbeaten on 27 as he and Shubman Gill (35 not out) got India home after his brilliant first-innings hundred.

He said of Rahane's century: "The discipline, on such a big stage, in a massive arena, to come as captain of the team, bat at number four. When he went out to bat, we were two down for 60 and then to bat six hours on probably the toughest day to bat.

"It was overcast; all day the sun never came out. He batted for six hours. Unbelievable concentration. I thought his innings was the turning point."

Dhoni is a veteran of 448 internationals across the limited overs formats, and captained India to glory at the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 and the 2011 World Cup - the latter an unforgettable triumph on home soil.

The 38-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has not featured for India since their semi-final loss to New Zealand at last year's World Cup and he is currently on a break from the game.

Rishabh Pant has taken the gloves for India in white-ball cricket but the Dhoni era might not be over just yet.

"I have had a conversation with MS and that is between us," Shastri told News18. "He has finished his Test career, he may soon end his ODI career. So he will be left with T20, he will definitely play the IPL.

"One thing I know about Dhoni is that he will not impose himself on the team. But if he has a cracking IPL, well, then... 

"We will have to consider the person’s experience and form. They will bat in the number five or six position. If Dhoni plays well in IPL, then he does put himself in contention."

A return to Dhoni could be welcoming in some quarters, given criticism that has been levelled at Pant's glovework and his failure to convert starts into decisive contributions with the bat.

Pant averages 20.50 from 25 T20I innings, but Shastri is backing the youngster.

"How many 22-year-old wicket-keepers have made 100s? He hasn’t dropped many catches and everyone is entitled to make mistakes," he added.

"As he matures he will get better. These things don't happen overnight. There is no question that he is a match-winner.

"Talent is there, he is doing everything to cash in. He is working hard on his wicketkeeping."

Malik has taken the 2022 Indian Premier League by storm, claiming 21 wickets at an average of 20 for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The 22-year-old clocked the fastest ball in this year's tournament with a delivery that registered 156.9 kilometres per hour on the speed gun against Delhi Capitals this month.

Malik rattled India captain Rohit Sharma on the helmet and took 3-23 to make another huge statement in Sunrisers' win over Mumbai Indians on Tuesday.

He became the youngest Indian to take 20 wickets in an IPL season with his latest exhibition of explosive pace bowling.

Former India head coach Shastri wants to see the rapid Malik in Rohit's pace attack on the international stage in the near future.

"Central contract straightaway," Shastri said on ESPNcricinfo's T20 Time Out.

"And keep him in the mix, don't let him float around. Keep him in the mix with the main players and then he learns seeing (and) being around with the [Mohammed] Shamis and the [Jasprit] Bumrahs, and see the way they train, see the way they manage their workload.

"Of course, there'll be the team management there, support staff, that'll help him do that, but don't let him stray at the moment. Get him into the mix, and keep him there and groom him."

Shastri says the quick will be even more potent when he learns to bowl with more control.

He said: "He'll get better and better. You see his bowling once he takes a wicket. Look at the lines he starts bowling as opposed to when he has not got a wicket – that's when he is trying everything, his lines are all over the place.

"You don't want him to cut down on pace. The last thing you would tell him looking for control, cut down on pace. What you want him to do is get his lines right: if he can bowl that stump line, attack the stumps on a constant basis, varying his lengths, he will trouble [batters].

"If he gets a wicket and new guy comes in, he can really rattle him because he has got the pace, he can keep the bloke on his toes, but it's that line - if he gets into that channel, without cutting his pace it will make a huge difference."

Shastri says Malik can provide a new dimension to the India Test attack.

"I promise you, this guy is going to be a handful in red-ball cricket. Handful, really. If he is part of an Indian pace battery that has Bumrah, Shami, you add this bloke in, a fourth guy, it's going to be a serious attack," he added.

India failed to qualify from their group at the World Cup in the United Arab Emirates last year following heavy defeats to arch-rivals Pakistan and New Zealand.

Rahul Dravid replaced Shastri as head coach following that tournament and Rohit Sharma took over as captain after Virat Kohli stepped down.

India head into the 2022 World Cup at the top of the rankings, with expectations of being strong contenders to dethrone the hosts.

They will be without injured paceman Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, but Shastri fancies their chances.

He said: "I have been part of the system for the last six-seven years, first as a coach and now I am watching from the outside, and I think this is as good a line-up as India has ever had in T20 cricket.

"With Surya [Suryakumar Yadav] at number four, Hardik [Pandya] at number five, and Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik at number six, it makes a massive difference as it allows the top order to play the way they are playing."

However, there is one area of concern for legendary former all-rounder Shastri as India prepare for their opening match against Pakistan at the MCG on October 23.

"One area that India will have to pick up and start right from the beginning is fielding," Shastri said.

"They need to work hard and get their A-game on the field when they step out against Pakistan.

"Those 15-20 runs that you save can make all the difference because otherwise every time you get out to bat, you need to get 15-20 runs extra."

India will also face South Africa, Bangladesh and two qualifiers in Group 2.

Agarwal was called up to the Test squad on Tuesday after Rohit suffered a tour-ending calf injury.

Shaw was also named in the 16-man Test squad along with Ishant Sharma, although the paceman's participation depends on whether he recovers from an ankle injury.

Fit-again Jasprit Bumrah was also included for two Tests that will come after a three-match ODI series against the Cricket World Cup runners-up, which gets under way at Seddon Park on Wednesday.

Virat Kohli confirmed it Shaw and Agarwal will be at the top of the order in the absence of Rohit as India look to maintain their momentum after a 5-0 Twenty20 International series whitewash of New Zealand.

Asked about the possibility of KL Rahul opening in the 50-over format, Kohli - who revealed the team management had asked for another opener to be flown out - replied: "No, we are looking to stick to that same plan.

"It's an unfortunate situation that Rohit can't be a part of this series. In all formats, he's on the list first and the impact he's had is there for everyone to see.

"We don't have any one-day tournaments to look forward to so it's an ideal time for him to go away and rectify this as soon as he can. He played the T20I series, so from the team's balance perspective heading into a World Cup year, it doesn't hamper combinations.

"Prithvi's in the team and will definitely start and whoever the replacement is [Agarwal] - we've asked for an opener. KL will play in the middle-order, we want him to get used to that role at number five and keep as well."

All-rounder Sundar misses out due to finger injury on his bowling hand that will take longer than expected to recover from.

Gill suffered a stress fracture of his shin during the World Test Championship final defeat to New Zealand at the Ageas Bowl and the opening batsman has returned to India.

Paceman Khan fractured his thumb during a warm-up game against a County Select XI last week.

Batsmen Shaw and Yadav - uncapped in the longest format - have been drafted in as replacements, while Prasidh Krishna and Arzan Nagwaswalla are on standby.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has been reunited with his team-mates after recovering from coronavirus.

The five-match series starts at Trent Bridge next Wednesday.

India squad:  Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav.

Replying to India’s score of 165-9, the West Indies cruised to 171-2 with 12 balls to spare.

The Caribbean men who have been having a tough time of it this past year, won the first two matches but then lost the last two making Sunday’s match a must-win for either team. The odds favoured India who emphatically won the fourth match by nine wickets at the same venue on Saturday, but the West Indies defied expectations and the tourists to produce their most complete performance of the series to beat India in a multi-match series for the first time since 2016.

After losing Kyler Mayers for 10 in the second over, Brandon King stepped up when it mattered most, scoring an unbeaten 85 from 55 balls. It was his highest international score in T20 Internationals. The Jamaican put on 107 for the second wicket with Player of the Series Nicholas Pooran, who made 47 before he got out going for a reverse sweep to a full delivery outside off and was caught at slip to hand Tilak Varma with a wicket off his second delivery in international cricket.

Pooran’s dismissal seemed to spark a sense of urgency in King, who smashed Chahal for consecutive sixes in the 16^th over and then smashed Varma for a six and a four in the 17^th to bring the West Indies within sight of victory.

Captain Shai Hope, who replaced Pooran, meanwhile, raced to 16 from just 12 deliveries before ending the match off the last ball of the 18^th over with a straight six off Jaiswal to finish unbeaten on 22.

India won the toss and chose to bat first and almost immediately regretted the decision after Akeal Hosein dismissed the dangerous opening pair of Yahashvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill for five and nine, respectively.

Suryakumar Yadav held down one end but India was unable to put together any lasting partnerships and lost wickets steadily. Roston Chase dismissed Tilak Varma for 27 opening the door for Shepherd to wreak havoc on the Indian lower order, removing Sanju Samson (13), Hardik Pandya (14), Arshdeep Singh (8) and Kuldeep Yadav for a duck.

In between, Jason Holder got the wicket of Axar Patel for eight as the Indian batters struggled to withstand the incisive bowling of the West Indies. Holder eventually broke Suryakumar’s resistance, trapping him lbw in the 18^th over.

Shepherd finished with 4-31 and Hosein 2-24 while Holder took 2-36.

After England were all out for 353 on the second morning, as Joe Root finished unbeaten on 122, Bashir was entrusted at one end following a short burst from the seamers and the decision paid rich dividends.

In his eighth first-class match and second Test, Bashir was solely responsible for India lurching from 86 for one to 161 for five, which included the wicket of the in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal.

The India opener has been a constant thorn in England’s side and top-scored with 73, but he was not the only member of his side to fall victim to variable bounce as the hosts went to stumps on 219 for seven, trailing by 134 runs.

Tom Hartley, curiously held back until the 32nd over, chipped in with two for 47 but this was Bashir’s day, as the 20-year-old vindicated his selection after being omitted for England’s defeat in Rajkot.

He came into this series with a first-class bowling average of 67 but is making sure England are not feeling the absence of senior spinner Jack Leach, who announced on Saturday he will undergo surgery on a knee injury which cut short his tour.

Bashir, who took four wickets in the second Test in Visakhapatnam, bowled 31 consecutive overs from one end and exploited helpful conditions as England, trailing 2-1 in the five-match series, put India under the pump.

Days after Ben Stokes admitted he would like to see umpire’s call abolished, England had three on-field decisions upheld as Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar and Ravichandran Ashwin reviewed their dismissals in vain.

There was no debating the breakthrough as James Anderson claimed Test wicket 697 after a flat-footed Rohit Sharma nicked through to Ben Foakes but Ollie Robinson was luckless, twice drawing the outside edge of Jaiswal either side of lunch.

The first dropped clearly short of Zak Crawley before disappearing for Jaiswal’s first four, but Foakes and England were convinced the second chance was taken cleanly and were momentarily stunned when third umpire Joel Wilson ruled against them, with Stokes cupping his hands to his mouth in shock.

Jaiswal earlier punished Anderson then Robinson for over-pitching with back-to-back fours and showed his range by shimmying down to Bashir and bludgeoning over long-on – his 23rd six of the series.

It was a rare misstep from Bashir, introduced as early as the ninth over just before lunch, as he settled into a mammoth spell, offering initial control and refusing to allow Jaiswal or Gill to dominate before ending an 82-run stand just as England looked to be running short of ideas.

Gill departed for 38 after being rapped on the front pad, beaten on the inside edge and playing down the wrong line, and a decent stride failed to save him on review as he was umpire’s call on impact.

It was just the second lbw of Bashir’s professional career and he did not have to wait long for his third as Patidar was out for 17, with a referral showing the ball would have clipped leg stump.

Ravindra Jadeja took successive sixes off fellow left-arm spinner Hartley, but these were his only scoring shots as he was deceived by extra bounce from Bashir’s top-spinner and plopped a simple bat-pad chance to Ollie Pope in the afternoon gloom.

Jaiswal launched a brief counteroffensive after tea with a late cut and inside-out drive over extra cover for fours off Bashir, who had his revenge and the wicket England prized most when one delivery stayed low and squirted off the toe-end of the opener’s bat before crashing into the stumps.

With the floodlights on, Hartley got into the act, drawing Sarfaraz Khan’s edge which was spectacularly caught by Root, diving to his left at slip, while Ashwin was lbw to a grubber and another India review went England’s way because of the on-field call.

Dhruv Jurel (30 not out) and Kuldeep Yadav (17no) put on an unbroken 42 but the momentum is firmly with the tourists on a tricky pitch.

England earlier added 49 to their overnight score, largely thanks to Robinson, who registered his maiden Test fifty and took his stand with Root to 102 before a reverse sweep brushed his glove en route to Jurel.

Robinson’s departure for 58 was the start of England losing their last three wickets for six runs in 17 balls, with Root left stranded having added just 16 to his day one total.

Joe Root (122 not out) and Ollie Robinson (58) helped England add 51 to an overnight 302 for seven but they lost their last three wickets for six runs in 17 balls on the second morning of the fourth Test.

James Anderson snared Rohit Sharma to move to within three of 700 Test wickets before the recalled Bashir trapped Shubman Gill and Rajat Patidar lbw and had Ravindra Jadeja caught bat-pad as India went to tea on 131 for four.

Jaiswal (54 not out) was immovable on a pitch which, despite the odd delivery keeping low, was devoid of the gremlins that had given England’s top-order major problems 24 hours earlier.

Robinson, in his first competitive appearance since July, twice drew the edge of Jaiswal but the ball bounced short of Zak Crawley then Ben Stokes, the latter much to England’s obvious chagrin.

Anderson made the breakthrough in his second over, getting one to hold its line and kiss Rohit’s outside edge on the way through to Ben Foakes, but while Robinson did likewise to Jaiswal, the ball dropped in front of a diving Crawley at second slip before scurrying away for the opener’s first four.

Robinson was memorably chided during the Ashes for bowling “124kph (77mph) nude nuts” by former Australia opener Matthew Hayden and the seamer did not do much to shed the tag as he operated in the mid-70mph range.

But he engaged in a fascinating tussle with Jaiswal, who pushed at a wider delivery after lunch and Foakes dived forward to take the edge, only for third umpire Joel Wilson to rule the ball had bounced.

England celebrated before the ‘not out’ verdict was returned on the two big screens and England were momentarily stunned, with captain Ben Stokes cupping his hands to his mouth in shock.

At the other end, Bashir was probing away and while he was dumped back over his head for six by Jaiswal, the off-spinner, in just his second Test, extracted some turn to beat both Gill (38) and Patidar (12) on the inside edge and gain leg-before verdicts.

Tom Hartley was not introduced until the 32nd over and was thumped for back-to-back sixes by Ravindra Jadeja, who was the undone by extra bounce from Bashir and popped a catch to Ollie Pope at short leg.

Earlier, India took the new ball after two deliveries but the hosts could not capitalise as Robinson collected three fours in an eventful over off Akash Deep, who beat the lower-order batter’s outside edge twice.

Robinson brought up a first Test half-century by slog-sweeping Jadeja for a ninth four, to go with one six, and stretched his stand with Root into three figures – England’s first century stand for the eighth wicket since August 2017.

But an attempted reverse sweep off Jadeja brushed Robinson’s glove on the way through to Dhruv Jurel and England’s innings unravelled quickly.

Shoaib Bashir clothed a skier to backward point while Jadeja had his and India’s third wicket of the morning when Anderson made a hash of a sweep and was lbw. Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers with four for 67.

The uncapped 20-year-old, a British Muslim with Pakistani heritage, was unable to travel to India for the start of England’s upcoming five-Test series due to delays with his visa application.

He initially remained in Abu Dhabi after the team’s recent training camp but was later forced to return to the UK to complete the process.

It was confirmed on Wednesday that the Somerset youngster had belatedly received the necessary stamp of approval in London and would now be able to fly out to India.

The news comes too late for him to be involved in the first Test in Hyderabad, which begins on Thursday, but he should be back with the team in the coming days.

An ECB spokesperson said: “Shoaib Bashir has now received his visa and is due to travel to join up with the team in India this weekend. We’re glad the situation has now been resolved.”

England captain Ben Stokes expressed his frustration over the episode, but said initial thoughts the team should not travel until the issue was resolved were quickly dispelled.

Stokes said: “When I first found the news out in Abu Dhabi, I did say we shouldn’t fly until Bash gets his visa, but that was a little bit tongue in cheek.

“I know it’s a way bigger thing, doing that. That was probably just (my) emotions around the whole thing. There was never a chance that we were not going to travel around this, but Bash knows he’s had our full support.

“I’m pretty devastated that Bash has had to go through this. As a leader, as a captain, when one of your team-mates is affected by something like that you do get a bit emotional.”

Bashir, who was called up for the tour after making just six first-class appearances, is not the first player to encounter difficulties receiving a visa for India.

Lancashire’s Saqib Mahmood, whose parents hail from Pakistan, had to be withdrawn from an England Lions tour of India in 2019 after similar delays, while Australia opener Usman Khawaja was a late arrival on his country’s Test trip in 2023.

Last year the Pakistan Cricket Board also wrote to the International Cricket Council to express concerns over waiting times for World Cup visas.

England had called for assistance from counterparts at the Board of Control for Cricket in India for Bashir, with new operations manager Stuart Hooper leading negotiations in the United Arab Emirates, but were informed the player needed to present his passport in person at the Indian high commission in London.