News about Sarfaraz Khan

PAUL NEWMAN IN DHARAMSHALA: If Ben Stokes writes his own scripts, it is fair to assume that he will not have England staring down the barrel in another traumatic loss after just two days in a dream setting. However, even the England captain could not have penned his spectacular but, let's face it, futile entrance with the ball in an otherwise predictable tale of Indian domination that will surely come to a 4-1 thumping any time soon. Stokes has been downplaying his chances of returning to his all-round role after recovering from knee pains late last year even though he has been steadily stepping up his bowling in practice.

PAUL NEWMAN IN RANCHI: Bashir was four for 84, hardly surprising to be the best figures of his fledgling career, as India struggled to deal with the uneven bounce and turn England's newcomer extracted from the cracked surface from his height of 6ft 4in. And with the imposing prospect of batting last, Hartley, who was postponed by Stokes' introduction until the 32nd century, is now 134 behind and facing the perplexing prospect of batting last.

ASK NASSER: After losing by 434 runs to India in the third Test in Rajkot, England was left to lick their wounds. India's elving victory put them 2-1 up in the series of two games to play, but England captain Ben Stokes was unconcerned about their Bazball strategy.

NASSER HUSSAIN: People will be wondering how meekly England lost in Sunday's second innings in Sunday's second innings, but this match was lost in the first. Make no mistake about it. England lost multiple chances, and poor fielding generally allowed India to post 445, but Sarfaraz Khan's debut would have been different if he walked in with India four down on the first morning rather than four in the evening at 237 for four.

RICHARD GIBSON AND PAUL NEWMAN — Mark Wood shone on his recall, but hundreds from India captain Rohit Sharma and hometown hero Ravindra Jadeja had stifled England's charge on the first day of the third Test. Wood, who was left out in Visakhapatnam, where the hosts levelled the series at 1-1, rewarded England's gamble by locating the edges of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill as India stumbled to 33 for three. Joe Roots' loss to reprieve Rohit on July 27 was a sliding doors moment, as the opener added another 104 before falling to Wood, who finished with three for 69 and shutting down the vivacious Sarfaraz Khan on debut.

NASSER HUSSAIN: The pivotal moment of the opening day, and possibly the series, came after England gave Rohit Sharma a life. Rohit had 27 and India would have been 47 for four, with two debutants next in, when Joe Root squandered the opportunity offered by spinner Tom Hartley. Sarfaraz Khan stepped to the crease for four in five hours five hours later, when the match had a completely different mood.

PAUL NEWMAN IN RAJKOT: It had echoes of Geoff Boycott's victory over Derek Randall at Trent Bridge in 1977, but this time it was the local hero fighting another day. Ravindra Jadeja had scraped off a promising debut on Sarfaraz Khan's debut on its debut in prime, but then had to cancel due to a single that would have given him another century on his home Rajkot soil. That gave Mark Wood the opportunity to end an enthralling day of his own by tossing down the stumps with Sarfaraz stranded after a hard-hitting 62 off 66 runs to bring to an earlier three wickets that kept England alive in the third Test race.

HELP NEWMAN IN RAJKOT: When asked on Tuesday if the draw, anathema to England in the Bazball period, was still off the table, Ben Stokes had a one-word answer, even if the pitch for Thursday's pivotal Test is a repeat of the one that resulted in high-scoring stalemate here more than seven years ago. 'Yeah,' said the England captain, one of six century designers in the drawn first Test at Rajkot of a series that began in 2016-17. India won convincingly. He had no reason to say anything else.

Mark Wood made an incredible display in the Indian Premier League by taking three wickets in his first two overs in the middle of a record-breaking five-wicket haul to ransack Delhi's batting. Wood, who had been signed ahead of the 2022 season but was forced to leave due to an elbow injury that needed surgery, had a massive haul in the process.