England to spend time in Bengaluru and Chandigarh before 5th Test in Dharamsala: Reports

The visiting England team will now spend their free time before the fifth Dharamsala Test in Bengaluru and Chandigarh. The fifth Test starts on March 7 and the England team have almost a week’s time before the fifth and final Test match.

India won the fourth Test in Ranchi by five wickets and won the series in the process. Interestingly, every Test match in the series so far has ended on day four. India started day 4 on 40 for no loss and won the match inside the first two sessions with Dhruv Jurel and Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 72-run stand winning the game for India.

India went from 84/1 to 120/5 and were in a spot of bother before the Gill-Jurel stand took India to victory. The win was conclusive enough as it earned India yet another Test series win against England at home.

England To Arrive In Dharamsala On March 4

England had their preparatory camp in Abu Dhabi before the Test series against India started. However, they have opted to stay within the country before the fifth Test that wraps up the series. The players have chosen to spend their break between Bengaluru and Chandigarh.

“The squad will be split across Chandigarh and Bengaluru before the fifth Test. They are unlikely to hit the nets during the break. The squad arrives in Dharamsala about three days before the Test (March 4),” an ECB source told PTI.

India have consolidated the second position in the WTC points table. New Zealand lead the points table with 75.0 PTC. India are placed second with a PTC of 64.58. Australia are placed last while England are placed eighth on the table.

This is the first Test series, England have lost under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. This is also the first time they have lost three Test matches on the trot. This was India’s seventh Test series win in the last 20-odd years when they have trailed in a Test series and the 17th consecutive Test series in India. They have drawn three matches and have not lost any under this condition.

” It has been a very hard fought series without a doubt and to come on the right side of it at the end of four Test matches feels really good. Really proud of everyone in the dressing room. They were a lot of challenges thrown at us but I thought we responded pretty well. We had different challenges in different Test matches and I thought we were quite composed in what we wanted to achieve and what we wanted to do on the field, very happy. Clearly tells me they (youngsters) want to be here, all the hard work they have done in the past, coming up playing domestic cricket and performing there, coming here it is a big challenge but when I look at them, talk to them and the responses that I get from them is quite encouraging” said Indian skipper Rohit Sharma after the Test win.

Also Read: “Joe Root scored a hundred, Jurel scored 90” – Rohit Sharma defends Ranchi pitch after Test series win over England