India close in on series victory against England after spinners wreak havoc in Ranchi

India are closing in on a fourth Test and series victory over England after the home side's spinners wreaked havoc on Day 4 in Ranchi.

It looked like England were in a strong position to take control of the Test and potentially level the five-match series at the start of the day but a battling 90 from Dhruv Jurel helped drag India to 307 all out at the JSCA International Stadium Complex.

It gave Ben Stokes' side a first-innings lead of 46, smaller than they would have expected at the end of Day 2 when India were seven wickets down and still trailing by 134 runs.

But any advantage England might have had disappeared when they were then bowled out for just 145 as Ravichandran Ashwin (5-51) and Kuldeep Yadav (4-22) ripped through their battling line-up. Only opener Zac Crawley (60) managed to pass the 50 mark.

Captain Rohit Sharma (24) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (16) ended the day unbeaten with India needing 152 runs to win and take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series

“I enjoy bowling with the new ball and today was another of those days,” said Ashwin after stumps. “I wanted that first over. I seem to have a bit of attachment to the new ball, it allows you to bowl a little quicker, and I enjoyed that.

“I had to change how I was thinking about the game because there wasn't much turn. I am someone who likes the ball to drop on to the pitch and get bite out of the surface but it wasn't like that here. I had to use side spin, hammer it in to the pitch, and it was quite a mental switch that I had to make.

“We showed phenomenal character. Kuldeep was brilliant today. He can put a lot of revs on the ball and he's got a lot of skill but he changed his paces really nicely, he is very difficult to play when he does that and I'm sorry to take the five-for from him!”

Earlier, Jurel's vital knock had given India a lift and frustrated an England attack who would have been eyeing a big first-innings lead.

But the wicketkeeper – who was dropped by Ollie Robinson on 59 – put on 76 with Kuldeep Yadav, 40 with Akash Deep and 14 with Mohammed Siraj for the last three wickets.

England's 20-year-old spinner Shoaib Bashir (5-119) took his first Test five-wicket haul, while veteran fast-bowler James Anderson claimed his 698th red-ball scalp when Yadav played on.

Ashwin then took the new ball on a pitch with cracks and variable bounce and struck in consecutive balls to remove Ben Duckett, caught at short leg for 15, and Ollie Pope, lbw without scoring, as England were reduced to 19-2.

Root, who scored an unbeaten 122 in the first innings, could not repeat his heroics and was out lbw to Ashwin for 11 following a referral.

Crawley was then bowled by Yadav who in turn removed Ben Stokes just before tea when the England captain was undone for the second time in the match by a ball that barely bounced ankle high and was bowled off his pad.

Jonny Bairstow fell on the first ball after tea and the innings folded soon after, with Ben Foakes falling for a 76-ball 17 off Ashwin.

“It's still pretty surreal,” said Bashir after his bowling efforts helped England establishing a first-innings lead.

“I want to dedicate this to my two late grandads who passed away around a year and a half ago, they loved Test cricket and their wish was for me to play. I'm so grateful.

“My favourite wicket was Jaiswal's. He's in top form and he's an incredible player so to get his wicket was surreal, too.

“I used to watch some of the guys in my dressing room as a little kid. They're brilliant, they give me so much confidence and it's a wonderful group to be a part of that really gets the best out of you.”

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”