Mike Atherton feels India's spinners will win it for them
Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel pulled off a nervy chase as India beat England by five wickets in the fourth Test on Monday to claim an unassailable 3-1 lead.
'You've just got to be positive enough to take that risk, accept that it may lead to your downfall. But when the intent is there and you have a clear reason as to why you are playing that shot, you can hold your hands up and accept it.'
Saud Shakeel's crafty 134 fetched Pakistan a handy first-innings lead before their spinners blew away England's top order to boost their hopes of a memorable series victory on day two of the deciding third Test in Rawalpindi on Friday.
Bashir, who is of Pakistani heritage, travelled with the squad to Abu Dhabi where England trained before the team arrived in India for the five-Test series beginning in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Woakes returned to the test squad for the first time since July 2023 in what will be England pace great James Anderson's farewell series.
Always knew I would get Indian visa, getting Rohit as my first wicket is incredible: Shoaib Bashir
England's Pakistan-origin off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was on Wednesday granted visa to play in the five-match Test series against India, ending a "frustrating" wait for the visiting side whose captain Ben Stokes felt "devastated" by the delay.
England on Monday named four specialist spinners, including the uncapped duo of Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir, in the 16-member squad for next month's five-Test series in India.
Brook's innings was by no means chanceless -- Tom Latham and Tim Southee both missed one good chance to take a thick edge in the slips -- but he rode his luck to bring up his 10th Test half century with a six.
'It's always frustrating to miss out. I've got some good things to focus on, so even though I'm not playing I've got a goal in mind.'
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 2nd Test played between Pakistan and England in Multan on Tuesday.
Brook's average of 62.54 is the second highest in Test history among players with a minimum of 20 Test innings. His average is only second to the incpmparable Australian batter Sir Don Bradman, who scored 6,996 runs in 52 Tests at an average of 99.94, with 29 centuries and 13 fifties.
Jamie Smith smashed a counter-attacking 89 before England's bowlers made early inroads into the Pakistan line-up to drag the touring side back into the deciding third and final Test.
'We felt like we had a lot of different wicket-taking opportunities. The odd ball was staying low, we got the ball reversing a little bit, and got the odd ball to spin as well. It's never an easy position.'
IMAGES from the third Test between England and Sri Lanka at The Oval on Saturday
Captain Shan Masood smashed 153 and forged a 253-run partnership with fellow centurion Abdullah Shafique as Pakistan dominated Day 1 of the first Test against England on Monday.
Images from Day 2 of the fourth Test between India and England in Rajkot on Saturday, February 24.
Chasing 192 for a victory that would fetch them an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series, India cruised to 40 for no loss at stumps on day three.
Ahead of the fifth and final Test at Dharamsala, England's head coach, Brendon McCullum, opined that it would be "slightly mad" if the spin duo of Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir didn't get the opportunities to play in the County Championship.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain said that the Indian fans are waiting to put 'Bazball' to bed during the five-Test series against the Three Lions from January 25 onwards and said that Indian spinners and batters will outplay those of England on turning tracks.
Saud Shakeel missed out on a hundred but Salman Agha smashed a brisk 79 not out to propel Pakistan to a commanding 515 for eight at tea on the second day of the contest on Tuesday.
Uncapped pace bowler Akash Deep has emerged as the frontrunner to partner Mohammed Siraj in the fourth Test against England after he was seen sweating it out during optional training in Ranchi on Thursday.
Wood has so far played two matches in the ongoing series
India will be looking for another favorable result to extend their lead in the World Test Championships standings.
A few days ago, when young England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir saw a missed call from a New Zealand dialling code number, he ignored it thinking it could be from "anyone random".
'It was quite emotional as well, actually -- I lost my two grand dads about a year and a half ago and they used to just sit and watch Test cricket all the time. Their wish was to see me out on the TV, I know they're supporting me from up above.'
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 2nd Test played between India and England in Visakhapatnam, on Friday
PHOTOS from Day 1 of the third and final Test between England and the West Indies at Edgbaston on Friday.
At 22 years and 37 days, Jaiswal, is only behind Vinod Kambli and Sunil Gavaskar on the list of youngest Indian batters to score 200 runs in Test cricket.
Root is not the only England batter to have impressed Vaughan in recent times, with the exploits of young gun Harry Brook also catching the eye of the respected commentator and Ashes-winning skipper.
Images from Day 4 of the fourth Test between India and England in Ranchi on Monday, February 26.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 2nd Test between England and Sri Lanka, at Lord's, on Sunday.
Gus Atkinson scored a superb maiden century as England's lower order collected quick runs against a ragged Sri Lanka bowling attack to post 427
'I wanted to convert the loose balls, and play till the end.'
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between England and the West Indies, at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Friday.
England on Friday replaced Ahmed with Shoaib Bashir in their playing XI for the fourth Test.
'England were really good today and they put up as much of a fight as they could. But obviously -- like with any Test series and any Test match -- you look at key areas where you let the game slip.'
'The series has shown a lot of talent, for us and India. I love Test cricket and we've seen some young, inexperienced players perform and the future looks bright in this format.'
IMAGES from Day 2 of the first Test between England and the West Indies, at Lord's, London, on Thursday.
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