Hello and welcome to Sportstar's live coverage of the 4th day of the 2nd Test between India and England from the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
An outright domination from Virat Kohli and Co. as they draw back level with a characteristic performance to prevail in the conditions. England have been ousted, perhaps right after Rohit Sharma's whirlwind 161 that led India to 329 in the first innings.
India's spinners with talisman Ravichandran Ashwin leading the pack, snapped the Englishmen into a quagmire on a tricky pitch that obeyed every charm of the host. England's plans were further deflated when Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin took the game away in the second innings with two clinical innings of the highest order. Ashwin's fifth Test hundred was the icing on the cake as India reworked its plans to torment England with a massive target on board.
Joe Root's men let themselves down once again with the willow as the Indian spinners grew in confidence to dismantle England early on in the chase on Day 3 before the obvious was set for Tuesday at the cauldron.
Debutant Axar Patel's precision was unmatched his fifer broke the English resistance without a sweat as India etched its biggest-ever win over England. Come 24th February, a new challenge beckons at a historical venue in Ahmedabad. India has put its formidable foe in self-doubt after a historical win in the first Test and that just adorns the Pink Ball contest for a greater Test!
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Latest: India climbs back to second position in the World Test Championship points table.
India sets up a massive 317-run win to keep its WTC Final qualification chances alive.
England 164 all out after 54.2 overs: Kuldeep to Ali. OUT! And the last assault is burned down.India records its biggest win over England in terms of runs. Ali charges down and Kuldeep deftly drifts it away. Pant collects the ball and swiftly snaps to finish off proceedings.
England 160/9 after 54 overs: Ali continues the boundary fest. Charges down to Ashwin for a massive six and a boundary and he could think about the fastest Test fifty here.
England 145/9 after 51 overs: Axar to Stone. OUT! Axar has him plumb in front. The ball keeps as Stone heaves and misses. A straightforward decision for the umpire and England loses a review on it. Moeen Ali gets the strike back and smashes a hattrick of sixes against Axar to finish the over!
England 116/8 after 50 overs: Axar Patel to Joe Root. OUT! A fifer on debut for Axar Patel!
The mighty Joe Root falls and there was nothing he could do get away from that. Axar's precision is the winner here as he probes Root to play for a drifter just outside off. Root presses hard and presents a simple lob catch for Rahane in slips.
India nearly there, two wickets away. Joe Root c Rahane b Patel 33 (133m 92b 3x4)
We are back for the 2nd session. Kuldeep Yadav takes the ball with Joe Root and Moeen Ali at the crease.
LUNCH| England 116/7 after 48.3 overs: Kuldeep to Foakes. OUT! Kuldeep has his first Test wicket in 2 years! Foakes chooses the full-ball to sweep and sends it straight to Axar Patel at short-midwicket. India three away and well and truly through the Test. Root, the skipper has managed to hold one end as the Indian spinners spew magic one again.
England 116/6 after 47 overs: Siraj DROPS Root! Unlucky for Kuldeep. Into his third over, Kuldeep has been desperate to sneak in a wicket and nearly has Root squared up. Root attempts the reverse-sweep but Kuldeep gets the ball to bounce on him. Root top-edges and it flies straight to Siraj at point who drops a sitter.
England 111/6 after 44 overs: Axar to Pope. OUT! Pope goes for the sweep and miscues it. The change of ends has immediately paid dividends for Axar. Pope has looked tentative ever since he came into play the sweep and has played one too many. Axar balls a slower, loopy deliver and the top-edge carries straight to Ishant who runs in from deep mid-wicket. India four wickets away. Ollie Pope c I Sharma b Patel 12 (20b 1x4 0x6)
Axar Patel replaces Ashwin.
Kuldeep Yadav gets the ball......
after an eternity.
England 103/5 after 41 overs: All a matter of time now. Root and Pope have begun to employ the sweep to keep Ashwin out but the offie has mixed up his line to trouble the duo. Ishant continues to tail the ball in to probe his chances for an lbw and a tentative skipper has fended it off from the brink.
England 90/5 after 38 overs: Ashwin to Stokes. OUT! Ashwin stalls him again! Twice in the Test and 10th time overall.
Stikes anticipates the turn from Ashwin round the wicket and moves outside off to defend, but Ashwin is up with another plan. Ashwin slides it in this time towards leg and Stokes carries a thick inside-edge that deflects of his thighs to Kohli in slips.
India is halfway through.
England 88/4 after 36 overs: 3 maiden overs on the trot. Stokes and Root continue to dish out the challenges. Ashwin has beaten the edge of Stokes on countless occasions but the magic delivery is yet to flow through. Ishant has tailed in the ball at the other end to put Root quiet as well.
Ishant Sharma replaces Axar Patel. Baffling as to why Kuldeep hasn't had the ball yet.
England 88/4 after 33 overs:
Axar goes a tad off line after a couple of sweep shots from Stokes and Root. Ashwin at the other end, is varying his pace well to unsettle Stokes. Ashwin continues to beat the outside edge after flipping it into a middle-stump line.
England 77/4 after 29 overs: Ashwin has Stokes under the pump.
Stokes has no answer to the massive drift and turn. He has tried it all, sweep - missed, reverse-sweep - edged, front press - beaten. Wouldn't be look before he removes Stokes for the 10th time in Tests.
England 68/4 after 26 overs: Ashwin into the attack and a wicket of the first ball! A needless move from Lawrence casts his dismissal. Lawrence continued his approach to step down and attack and takes a big lunge forward and across. Ashwin sees him coming and darts in a quicker one down leg to Pant. Pant takes a moment to collect the ball and slams the stumps to send back England's no.3. Dan Lawrence st †Pant b Ashwin 26 (53b 2x4 1x6)
England 61/3 after 23 overs: Axar has Root pinned down. Root is caught in two minds as Axar first darts in a beauty that drifts away swiftly after pitching in middle. Root has no clue whatsoever. The skipper's unsettled and goes for a premeditated sweep off a floater from Axar next up and misses completely. Interesting contest brewing between the two.
Axar Patel into the attack from the other end.
England 56/3 after 20 overs:
Siraj up with a slow start. Drags the ball down the leg-side to the right-handed pair. Lawrence is off the mark for the day with an outside edge that skims through the vacant gully.
In walks skipper Joe Root and Dan Lawrence to resume the chase. India has taken the field and Mohammed Siraj takes the ball.
We are ready for action, folks!
India has one eye on its next target already
8:57 am: More updates from our correspondent Ayan Acharya from Chepauk: A week to go for the pink-ball Test and Bumrah's preparations are on in full swing. Bowling at full tilt with pink ball as Bharat Arun watches on. Meanwhile, Wriddhiman Saha keeping wickets to Kuldeep Yadav
Our correspondent Ayan Acharya updates from Chepauk: Some pretty stern words during the security briefings, from the looks of it. Yesterday's breach didn't go down well with the top brass as one would expect. "If that kid had reached close to English players, would've been a disaster," says a security personnel.
Chepauk goes yellow and bright.
8:17 am: An hour away from action. Win-win (1-1) India?
NUMBERS GAME - DAY 3
Leach puts India on the spot
Left-armer Jack Leach took
4-wicket hauls in both the matches of the series . The last visiting left-arm bowler to take 4-wicket hauls in consecutive Test matches in India was Daniel Vettori in 2010.
Invincible Virat's lean streak
Ravichandran Ashwin's epic homecoming
Ashwin hit his third Test century while batting at number 8 - the most by an Indian at the position . He went past MS Dhoni, Kapil Dev and Harbhajan Singh, all of whom who had two hundreds.
What they said
“As far as the pitch is concerned, not even one ball has hit the batsman’s helmet or taken off extraordinarily. It is just spinning normally. We are also playing on the same pitch and making runs. So nobody should have reservations about the pitch,”
Axar Patel on the unwarranted criticism of the Chepauk pitch.
DAY 3 - REVIEW
A sensational day in its mighty cauldron in Chennai, India revelled in the 'sandy patch' as Ravichandran Ashwin mesmerized his home ground with the willow. After putting England into shambles with a fifer in the first innings, Ashwin was out to bat today with Virat Kohli as India lost its big guns early in the first session to England's spinners.
But as the spinners began to deteriorate with their line and length, Kohli and Ashwin turned on the heat on England with an electrifying crowd behind them. Post Kohli's dismissal, it was Ashwin all the way as he quelled the demons on the pitch en route an epoch-making fifth Test ton in his homeground.
England began its record chase on fine ground before Axar Patel and Ashwin found their rhythm once again.
And soon, it transcended to a tale of two tracks on the same day as England went down the spiral in typical fashion of several visiting nations in India. England despite being better equipped and deflating India in the first Test, failed to foil enough plans to tackle the day. Joe Root, the skipper, vanished into the background as a soaring Chepauk ground got behind its super-heroes.
Save for a sensational Ben Foakes and the occasional spells of brilliance from Jack Leach and Moeen Ali, the visitor has been shunned down by India in its return to form at home.
ALSO READ | Ben Foakes, a master gloveman for England
India heads into Day 4 with its head held high after a clinical all-round performance to make it all level before the trip to Ahmedabad.
WATCH: CD Gopinath, the only surviving member of India's first-ever Test win in 1952 against England in Chennai, relives the historic moment.
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India XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj
England XI: Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Dan Lawrence, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wk), Moeen Ali, Olly Stone, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach
Toss: India won the Toss and elected to bat first
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