CHENNAI: India captain Virat Kohli said Tuesday his side showed more grit and determination to thrash England in the second Test, playing down complaints about the difficult pitch.

With local hero Ravichandran Ashwin claiming eight wickets in the match and scoring 106 in the second innings, India completed a 317-run victory inside four days in Chennai.

Left-arm spinner Axar Patel claimed a five-wicket haul on his Test debut as England were out for 164 while chasing an unlikely 482 on day four.

Some said the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium pitch, which crumbled from nearly the first day, was not fit for a Test.

But England made no public complaint and Kohli rejected the criticism and said his side played a perfect game.

“I think our application with the bat was outstanding,” said the India captain. “The conditions were challenging for both sides but we showed more application and grit and determination to battle it out. We didn’t panic out there looking at the hard turn and bounce on that pitch.”

England captain Joe Root conceded that his side were outplayed in all three departments this week and had to learn quickly before the third Test in Ahmedabad.

But he added: “I would say it was a challenging wicket. I do think that it was an important toss to win.”

England, he said, now have to be honest and learn quickly to adapt to conditions in India.

England, struggling since the opening day, kept losing wickets after resuming on 53-3 on day four.

Root departed for 33 soon after lunch, falling to Patel.

Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav joined in to finish off the innings, taking Moeen Ali after he smashed 43 off 18 balls.

The last wicket partnership of 38 between Moeen and Stuart Broad, unbeaten on five, was England’s highest of the match.

Scoreboard

INDIA (1st Innings) 329 (R.G. Sharma 161, A.M. Rahane 67, R.R. Pant 58; Moeen Ali 4-128, O.P. Stone 3-47).

ENGLAND (1st Innings) 134 (B.T. Foakes 42 not out; R. Ashwin 5-43).

INDIA (2nd Innings) 286 (R. Ashwin 106, V. Kohli 62; Moeen Ali 4-98, M.J. Leach 4-100).

ENGLAND (2nd Innings, overnight 53-3):

R.J. Burns c Kohli b Ashwin 25

D.P. Sibley lbw b Patel 3

D.W. Lawrence st Pant b Ashwin 26

M.J. Leach c R. Sharma b Patel 0

J.E. Root c Rahane b Patel 33

B.A. Stokes c Kohli b Ashwin 8

O.J.D. Pope c I. Sharma b Patel 12

B.T. Foakes c Patel b Kuldeep 2

Moeen Ali st Pant b Kuldeep 43

O.P. Stone lbw b Patel 0

S.C.J. Broad not out 5

EXTRAS (B-6, LB-1) 7

TOTAL (all out, 54.2 overs) 164

FALL OF WKTS: 1-17, 2-49, 3-50, 4-66, 5-90, 6-110, 7-116, 8-116, 9-126.

BOWLING: I. Sharma 6-3-13-0; Patel 21-5-60-5; Ashwin 18-5-53-3; Mohammed Siraj 3-1-6-0; Kuldeep Yadav 6.2-1-25-2.

RESULT: India won by 317 runs to level 4-match series 1-1.

UMPIRES: N.N. Menon (India) and V.K. Sharma (India).

TV UMPIRE: A.K. Chaudhary (India).

MATCH REFEREE: J. Srinath (India).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Ravichandran Ashwin.

FIRST TEST: Chennai, England won by 227 runs.

THIRD TEST: Ahmedabad, Feb 24-28 (2:00pm PST).

FOURTH TEST: Ahmedabad, March 4-8 (9:00am PST).

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2021