India seal emphatic victory over England to level series

Axar Patel takes 5-60 on debut as India’s spinners wrap up dominant 317-run win to leave four-match series finely poised.

Left-arm spinner Axar impressed on his debut. Credit: ESPNcricinfo

England’s six-match winning run away from home in Test cricket came to an abrupt end as the tourists were dismissed for 164 in under two sessions to conclude a gruelling four days in tough conditions for which they were behind from the first morning and never recovered.

Faced with the near impossible task of chasing 482, or batting out the final two days for a draw, Joe Root and Dan Lawrence returned to the crease on 53-3, with the mindset of simply prolonging an inevitable heavy defeat for as long as possible.

Root just about managed to survive the opening over of spin from Axar Patel as the left-arm spinner twice beat the outside edge on balls that turned square, with the England skipper also failing to make contact with a sweep shot that had become second nature to the batsman over the past three matches.

Ravi Ashwin’s remarkable Test match continued with his first ball of the day leading to the downfall of Lawrence, stumped for 26. Some smart work by Rishabh Pant with the gloves added to an already all-round impressive display of wicket-keeping in the match as Ashwin fired the ball through Lawrence’s legs who advanced down the wicket in an attempt to adopt a more positive approach.

Pant was not to be outdone by Foakes as he showcased his skills to remove Lawrence. Credit: BCCI

The Indian side looked completely different to the one that was convincingly beaten on the same ground just a week earlier, with constant chirping in the field intensifying as the hosts sensed a swift conclusion. Some indecision by both Root and Ben Stokes even brought about smiles and almost laughter from both sets of players as the inevitable drew closer. Stokes was becoming increasingly frustrated and bemused by the unpredictable bounce on offer to the spinners, even failing to connect with a rare full toss served up from Ashwin as England managed to survive an hour with the loss of just one wicket.

Immediately after the drinks break though, Stokes’ nightmare was over for eight off 50 balls, caught at gully by Virat Kohli off an inside edge onto pad for Ashwin’s third and final scalp of the match. Root continued to battle and on the odd occasion managed to find the boundary on the sweep as England passed 100.

However, Ollie Pope’s stay at the crease didn’t last long, only just managing to survive a ball that ripped past his outside edge and somehow missed his off stump, before being caught in the deep off a top-edge the very next delivery to Axar.

Given the success of Ashwin and Axar, spinner Kuldeep Yadav, a man brought into the side for the second Test, only came onto bowl for the first time in the innings in the 43rd over. After Mohammed Siraj dropped a fairly routine catch from a Root top-edge, Kuldeep did manage to claim his first wicket in the match soon after as Foakes swept straight to Axar at square leg, failing to build on his promising first innings with the bat. That wicket signalled lunch with India on the brink as England slipped to 116-7.

Root’s resistance only lasted five balls after lunch, dismissed for a battling 33 off 92 balls from another seemingly unplayable delivery by Axar that leaped out of the surface and caught the glove of the England captain, who was left to stare at the pitch in disbelief. With the end of the game in sight, Moeen Ali decided to attack the Indian bowlers, dispatching Axar for three successive sixes and racing onto 28 from just 12 balls. At the other end, Olly Stone became Axar’s fifth victim, trapped LBW with the pace bowler’s review in vain.

Root was unable to find his usual fluency. Credit: England Cricket

Stuart Broad also found the boundary as the last wicket partnership saw England pass 150. From a seemingly tedious ending, Moeen brought up his fifth six as the all-rounder eyed the fastest fifty in Test cricket, held by Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq off 21 deliveries. Unfortunately, Moeen’s fun at the crease was cut short by Kuldeep for a spirited 43 off just 18 balls as one attempt at an expansive shot too many saw his bails removed by Pant with the batsman way short of his ground. A timely reminder perhaps ahead of the upcoming IPL auction, after he was released by Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore following the previous campaign.

England’s 164 all out meant the margin of victory was a huge 317 runs, as India responded from defeat in the first Test to square the series at 1-1 with two to play. The series now moves to Ahmedabad for the final two matches, including a day-night Test with the use of the pink ball. England will certainly be hoping for a pitch that offers more for the pace bowlers with James Anderson expected to return, and will be boosted by the knowledge that India’s seamers took all 20 wickets in the last day-night Test to be played in the country. Stuart Broad will also be hoping to get another opportunity after only managing to bowl 20 overs and failing to take a wicket in a match dominated by spin.

Despite widespread criticism of the Chennai pitch, there is no doubt that the hosts outclassed England in all departments over the four days and cashed in on winning the toss as England did in the first Test. Rohit set the tone in the first innings with a superb 161, whilst India’s spinners provided much more sustained pressure than their England counterparts, along with some superb support behind the stumps from Rishabh Pant. Ravi Ashwin unsurprisingly received the player-of-the-match award on his home ground for his fine performance of 119 runs and eight wickets, despite Rohit’s century, with the pair scoring more runs than the entire England team combined over two innings. In fact, England’s final-wicket partnership of 38 between Moeen and Broad was their highest for the match.

England can be take some positives in the form of Ben Foakes, who top scored with the bat in the first innings and produced a wicket-keeping masterclass throughout on his return to the Test side. Similarly Moeen Ali, playing in his first Test since the 2019 Ashes, entertained with the bat and achieved the best bowling figures in both innings in his total of eight wickets which included two dismissals of India captain Kohli. Olly Stone, although fairly limited in opportunity due to the nature of the pitch, also impressed on the first morning with the new ball in just his second Test appearance and will be hoping to retain his spot in the team, whilst Jack Leach showed encouraging signs in favourable conditions to rubber-stamp his position as England’s frontline spinner.

Foakes impressed with bat and gloves to provide a rare highlight for England. Credit: Sky Sports

Despite the poor performance, the series is very much still alive and all to play for, with England now needing to win the final two Tests in order to face New Zealand in the World Test Championship Final at Lord’s later this year. England have since named a 17-man squad for the third Test with Moeen Ali, perhaps to the disappointment to most fans, deciding to fly home as part of England’s rotation policy with the view of returning for the white ball series to follow. However, Joe Root will be boosted by the return of Jonny Bairstow (rested) and Zak Crawley (wrist injury) to provide competition at the top of the order to the under-pressure Rory Burns and Dan Lawrence. Meanwhile, Sam Curran and Mark Wood have both rejoined the squad after being rested for the first two Tests, whilst Jofra Archer is also expected to be available after an elbow injury to provide major competition in the pace department for what is expected to be more seamer-friendly conditions in Ahmedabad on Wednesday 24th.

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt