As the fifth and final Test match between India and England is slated to begin on March 7, the visiting team captain Ben Stokes and his squad enjoyed a revitalising morning run against the picturesque backdrop of the Himalayas in Dharamshala. Perched at an elevation of 1457 meters, Dharamshala offers stunning views of snow-capped peaks and bubbling streams. Stokes kindly gave us peeks of their jog, which perfectly captured the spirit of their warm-ups. The beauty of the surroundings blended with physical training to indicate that England were prepared for the match that will take place at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on Thursday.
Ben Stokes shared the footage of their morning jog and warm-up sessions that they took on the local roads of Dharamsala, which is where the action finds itself following India’s five-wicket win in Ranchi. “Some place to trundle this morning,” the caption of Stokes’ social media post read. Veteran bowler James Anderson, opening batsman Zak Crawley, and assistant coach Paul Collingwood were amongst those who joined the English captain for a morning run.
On Sunday, March 3, both the India and England teams landed in Dharamshala. On Monday, the teams trained at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium.
It has been an absolutely absorbing series so far. Although India already have the series in their pocket as they head into the fifth Test with a 3-1 lead, the ‘Bazballers’ have given the hosts a run for their money. They are arguably the best English visiting side since the one that trounced India 2-1 in 2012.
England shocked everyone by winning the first Test in Hyderabad, registering a 28-run win. However, an inexperienced India team, which was missing the services of the likes of Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, and KL Rahul, fought back under the astute leadership of Rohit Sharma and won three consecutive Tests: a 106-run beating in Visakhapatnam, a record-breaking 434-run win in Rajkot, and a nerveless five-wicket win in Ranchi in what was a tricky run chase.
Ahead of the fifth and final Test, a player each from either side are set to play their 100th Tests. India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who reached the 500 Test wickets landmark in the third Test, will be playing Test No. 100 in Dharamsala. So will England’s Jonny Bairstow, who’s 26 runs away from completing 6000 Test runs. The middle-order batter has had a miserable outing on this tour, scoring just 170 runs across eight innings with a high score of 38.
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