| Third test, Ahmedabad (second day) |
| 112 (Crowley 53; refractive 6-38) & 81 (Breakage 5-32, Ashwin 4-48) |
| India 145 (Rohit 66, root 5-8, leach 4-54) & 49-0 |
| India won 10 wickets |
| Scorecard |
England surrendered to a 10 wicket defeat against India within two days of a stunning third Test in Ahmedabad.
On a hardly believable day when the two sides collapsed and 17 wickets fell in two sessions, India completed its fastest test win since 1935 not long after the final session.
England started the day with a sensational fight, as India’s 99-3 night turned 145.
However, faced with a first-round deficit of 33, England were knocked out for 81 as the Indian spinners rioted again.
In a frantic start to their second roles, England lost Zach Crowley and Johnny Bayerstow inside three balls – both being thrown by Axar Patel.
Ben Stokes and Joe Root briefly calmed down the tumultuous atmosphere but their eliminations in successive periods sparked an unfortunate procession to England’s lowest Test total in India.
The Spinners were responsible for every wicket fall of the day – and 28 out of 30 in the match – Joe Root got 5-8 in the first session, Axar 5-32 and Ravichandran Ashwin 4-48, including his 400 test scalp.
India hit its goal of 49 players within eight sums, an incredible game over before the abrasive conditions of the night and day test had an effect.
The victory gave India, which lost the first Test, an irreplaceable 2-1 lead in the series with one match to play and ended England’s hopes of qualifying for the World Test Championship final this summer.
England broke away on a busy day
If the first day of that test was great – England knocked out 112 despite winning the lottery – day two was one of the most incredible days in recent memory.
Neither side had dealt with the pitch shift, at least until chasing after India when England was frustrated after the game’s second weak crash.
The 17 wickets fell in 53 bids for a loss of 127 throws, and the match ended with nearly 30 sums remaining on the second day.
The fact that Root works part-time claimed that such unusual numbers demonstrated the difficulties the batsmen faced. Flirters found the role extravagant, but the wicket often fell for deliveries that slipped.
Although the England fight brought them back into competition, the relentless skill and precision of Aksar and Ashwin proved a lot for a team that also collapsed twice in their second Test defeat.
Had England mobilized 100 again India would have had a hard time chasing.
Instead, and under little pressure, Chopman Gil and Rohit Sharma were able to achieve victory in a one-day position for crowd enjoyment at the world’s largest cricket stadium.
England’s defeat by the numbers
- England lasted 476 balls in two rounds – the fifth lowest number in Test history.
- England scored less than 200 points a game for only the seventh time, and the third since 1904.
- It is the eighth test for two days since World War II and the first defeat of England in two days since 1912.
First, the collapse of India
After squandering a toss on the first day, fighting England with the ball gave them a way back into the competition.
Jack Leach, who banished India captain Virat Kohli in the final on Wednesday, shook twice early in the second day, playing the ball by Agincia Rahani as he tried to cut off the sweeping Rohit Sharma lbw for 66.
Then the root ran through the lower middle arrangement.
Rishabh Pant was caught behind the first Root ball before Washington downed Sundar and Axar Patel in three ball space to give the England captain 3-0 numbers.
Although this was Root’s first five-wicket transfer on auditions, it added questions about England’s choice of picking a single front-line disc at Leach – a scene that doubled as Root opened bowling in fourth innings.
India collapsed from 114-3 to 145 when Leach finished 4-48, but the superb bowling performance by the English batsmen was soon lost.
More to track
