Ravichandran Ashwin did everything he possibly could to make his 100th Test memorable. The off-spinner claimed a four-fer in the first innings and followed it up with a fifer in the second essay to outsmart the England batters and guide India to a 4-1 win in the five-match Test series.
After India ended its innings with a lead of 259 runs at the HPCA Stadium here on Saturday, England needed steady partnerships to stay in the hunt. However, as has been the case in the series, the batters from the touring side - barring Joe Root (84, 128b, 12x4) - struggled to come up with a plan against Ashwin and perished owing to moments of indecision, before being handed an innings and 64-run defeat.
Sharing the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah - the stand-in captain for the day after Rohit Sharma complained of a stiff back - Ashwin (5 for 77) left England gasping for survival as he ripped through its top-order and eventually became the fourth bowler in history, after Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble, to achieve a fifer in the 100th Test.
For England, James Anderson started the day with a glimmer of hope, claiming his 700th Test wicket by getting Kuldeep to nick one behind as India lost its last two wickets adding just four runs to its overnight tally.
However, England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett fell early, leaving the stage set for Root and Jonny Bairstow. While Root decided to hang in there, Bairstow hammered three huge sixes off Ashwin before Kuldeep struck in his first over through a leg break to end his 31-ball 39-run stay at the crease.
IND vs ENG Day 3 Highlights, 5th Test
And thereafter, none of the batters except for Root, could show resistance. Ashwin castled England captain Ben Stokes at the stroke of lunch. Throughout the series, Stokes looked off-colour and with another poor outing, England’s hopes of a miraculous turnaround also went up in the smoke.
As wickets tumbled at the other end, Root used his nimble feet and soft hands to deal with the Indian spinners and delay the inevitable. After a century in the Ranchi Test, the seasoned campaigner showed resolve, but it was a lone battle.
It would not have been possible for England to extend the game up to an hour after lunch had the young Shoaib Bashir not dug in for a while to back Root. But Ravindra Jadeja cleaned up Bashir, and in a span of three overs, Root perished to long-on, off Kuldeep, handing India one of its most comfortable wins.
And as the players rejoiced their success, India stood atop the World Test Championship (WTC) standings with 68.5 points.
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