BCCI Pondering Salary Hike For Test Players: Reports

The BCCI is expected to raise the match fees for Test matches and provide incentives to players participating in all Test series in the year, according to sources within the board.

This choice was made because players such as Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have chosen not to participate in the Ranji Trophy for their states, despite not being part of the Indian squad. They have decided to skip domestic cricket to focus on preparing for the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

Currently, the BCCI provides players with Rs 15 lakh for every Test match. The governing body gives Rs 6 lakh for each One-Day International (ODI) and Rs 3 lakh for T20 International (T20I).

Summarizing the fourth Test at Ranchi, England opted to bat first after winning the toss. They concluded their first innings at 353, largely due to a remarkable century by Joe Root (122* from 274 deliveries, including 10 fours), a half-century from Ollie Robinson (58 from 96 balls, featuring nine fours and a six), and contributions from Ben Foakes (47 from 126 balls, with four boundaries and a six).

Ravindra Jadeja (4/67) and Akash Deep (3/83) stood out as the top performers among the Indian bowlers.

India was dismissed for 307 in their initial innings in response to England's 353. Despite Yashasvi Jaiswal's impressive performance, India found themselves at 219/7 before Jurel and Kuldeep's partnership helped them reach a total of over 300 runs.

Spinner Shoaib Bashir caused problems for Indian batsmen, taking his first ever five-wicket haul with figures of 5/119. Tom Hartley (3/68) and James Anderson (2/48) also posted strong performances.

Jurel's brave defensive performance, alongside the lower-order batsmen, not only lifted India from a difficult position but also narrowed England's first-inning lead to 46 runs.

In the second inning, England was only able to score 145 runs before losing all their wickets. Zak Crawley made 60 runs in 91 balls with seven fours, and Jonny Bairstow added 30 runs in 42 balls with three fours. India's spinners took all 10 wickets, with Ravichandran Ashwin securing 5 wickets for 51 runs and Kuldeep Yadav claiming 4 wickets for 22 runs, leading the bowling for the home team.

In pursuit of reaching 192 runs to secure a commanding 3-1 series lead, the home team made a strong beginning, led by captain Rohit Sharma (scoring 55 runs in 81 deliveries, including five fours and a six) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (contributing 37 runs in 44 balls, with five fours), as they established an 84-run partnership at the start of the innings.

Before Bashir's performance, the visitors were struggling, but he managed to pick up 3 wickets for 79 runs, bringing India's score down to 120/5. Following that, Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel led India to a five-wicket series win with their impressive batting performances.

India is currently ahead in the series with a 3-1 lead.

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