After Southampton Test, Sourav Ganguly hails England and two other important members

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly congratulated England on Sunday after they won the fourth Test in Southampton by 60 runs and clinched the five-match series 3-1. The two teams will now play the last Test at the Oval from September 7 though it is only of academic interest now. Ganguly also praised shower on captain Virat Kohli and also on Kumara Dharmasena, one of the umpires who officiated the Test match.

Chasing 245 to win the game to square the series, India were bowled out for 184 on Day 4 to lose the game as well as the series. Their beginning was disastrous as they slipped to 22 for 3 and it was all left to captain Virat Kohli (58) to do it for them. He did well to put up a 100-run partnership with vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane (51) but once Kohli fell to man of the match Moeen Ali, the floodgates were open again and the visitors lost their last six wickets for just 61. This is the third straight Test series that India have lost in England since 2011 even after making a strong comeback at Trent Bridge last month.

According to Ganguly, who harboured hope that India could chase down even a target of 300 after England put their nose ahead in the second innings on Day 3, said in a post-match tweet: “Fantastic test match ..congratulations England ..virat kohli an absolute standout .and for me Kumara Dharmasena was fantastic in these conditions …best umpire @cricketsrilanka @BCCI @bhogleharsha.”

Here’s his tweet

Fantastic test match ..congratulations England ..virat kohli an absolute standout .and for me Kumara Dharmasena was fantastic in these conditions …best umpire @cricketsrilanka @BCCI @bhogleharsha

— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) September 2, 2018

The last time India won a Test series in England was in 2007, under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid. They have won a series in England only thrice in the past while Ganguly was the skipper of the side that drew England in a three-match series in 2002.

Kohli now has 544 runs in the series

Kohli, nevertheless, has stood out in the series scoring 544 runs in eight innings. He has scored two centuries and three half-centuries so far and is the highest run-getter in the series for both sides. The match at The Ageas Bowl, which saw a surface having uneven bounce and extravagant spin at times, had 14 leg before wickets which showed the amount of work the umpires on the ground had to put up.

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