In January, England landed in India for the sides' five-Test bilateral series starting in Hyderabad. The visitors were aiming to become the first team in nearly 12 years to defeat the Men in Blue in a Test series on home soil.
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They got off to the perfect start, winning by 28 runs in the first Test in Hyderabad thanks to Ollie Pope (196) and Tom Hartley (7/62). However, India hit back in Visakhapatnam. Jasprit Bumrah's inspired spell of bowling (6/45) and Yashasvi Jaiswal's maiden double century (209) enabled the hosts to win by 106 runs.
In the third Test at Rajkot, the match belonged to Jaiswal who smashed 214* in the second innings before the bowlers took over to complete a record 434-run win. India then won by 5 wickets in the fourth Test in Ranchi to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series.
Will Virat Kohli play IPL 2024? Indian legend speculates about Kohli's comeback
Player unavailability was the subject of the tour as four Indian players; Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel and Akash Deep debuted in the series. One of India's biggest absentees was star batter Virat Kohli, who initially withdrew from the first three Tests for personal reasons, before also pulling out of the last two.
The reason for Kohli's absence was soon revealed as he and his wife, Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma were blessed with their second child. At an interaction with students at the Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi, former India opener Sunil Gavaskar cheekily suggested he could miss the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) as well, saying,
Kya woh khelenge... kuchh reason ke liye khel nahin rahe hain, shaayad ho sakta hai ke IPL ke liye bhi na khele (Will he play... He is not playing because of some reason, perhaps he may not play in IPL as well).
The 2024 IPL is set to begin on March 22, as Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore take on the Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. RCB are set to play five matches in 15 days in the first leg of fixtures, and will be looking to win their first-ever title.
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