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RANCHI: Spin twins Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav combined to rout England in their second innings and put India on course for a series-clinching victory in the fourth Test on Sunday.
Off-spinner Ashwin (5-51) and left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep (4-22) shared nine wickets on a turning track to bundle out England for 145 inside two sessions.
Chasing 192 for a victory that would fetch them an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series, India cruised to 40 for no loss at stumps on day three.
Skipper Rohit Sharma (24) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (16) have looked unperturbed on a pitch, where the ball spun sharply and stayed low occasionally.
Earlier, when action resumed on Sunday, Dhruv Jurel (90) led a spirited rearguard action to rescue India, who posted 307 all out in reply to England’s first innings 353.
Jurel combined in a 76-run partnership with Kuldeep (28), whose 131-ball vigil was the longest in his Test career.
Jurel smashed four sixes and six fours in his knock but fell short of a hundred when Tom Hartley (3-68) bowled him.
Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir (5-119) claimed his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
A lead of 46 was much lower than England probably had expected having reduced India to 177-7 before the hosts roared right back into the contest after Ashwin’s triple strikes.
The off-spinner had Ben Duckett caught short leg for 15 and trapped Ollie Pope lbw with his next delivery. Pope fell for his second duck in the match.
While Ashwin could not complete a hat-trick, he got the important wicket of Joe Root (11) lbw.
Root, who made a classy century in the first innings, was initially adjudged not out, but Ashwin coaxed his captain Rohit Sharma into challenging the decision.
The hosts were rewarded when replays confirmed the ball would have gone on to hit the stump.
Opener Zak Crawley smashed seven fours in his 60 before losing his middle stump to Kuldeep.
The spinner struck another telling blow when he had Ben Stokes bowled for four before the tea break.
The England captain missed the ball, which hit his pad before spinning back between his legs and went on to hit the stumps.
Jonny Bairstow (30) fell in the first ball after the tea break and Kuldeep dismissed Hartley and Ollie Robinson in the same over to pin England on the mat.
Ashwin went on to dismiss Ben Foakes and Anderson in the same over as England lost their last six wickets for 25 runs in a remarkable meltdown.
SCOREBOARD
ENGLAND (1st Innings) 353 (J. Root 122 not out, O. Robinson 58; R. Jadeja 4-67)
INDIA (1st Innings, overnight 219-7):
Y. Jaiswal b Bashir 73
R. Sharma c Foakes b Anderson 2
S. Gill lbw b Bashir 38
R. Patidar lbw b Bashir 17
R. Jadeja c Pope b Bashir 12
S. Khan c Root b Hartley 14
D. Jurel b Hartley 90
R. Ashwin lbw b Hartley 1
K. Yadav b Anderson 28
A. Deep lbw b Bashir 9
M. Siraj not out 0
EXTRAS (B-12, LB-5, NB-6) 23
TOTAL (all out, 103.2 overs) 307
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-4 (Sharma), 2-86 (Gill), 3-112 (Patidar), 4-130 (Jadeja), 5-161 (Jaiswal), 6-171 (Sarfaraz), 7-177 (Ashwin), 8-253 (Yadav), 9-293 (Deep)
BOWLING: Anderson 18-4-48-2; Robinson 13-0-54-0 (6nb); Bashir 44-8-119-5; Hartley 27.2-6-68-3; Root 1-0-1-0
ENGLAND (2nd Innings):
Z. Crawley b Yadav 60
B. Duckett c Sarfaraz b Ashwin 15
O. Pope lbw b Ashwin 0
J. Root lbw b Ashwin 11
J. Bairstow c Patidar b Jadeja 30
B. Stokes b Yadav 4
B. Foakes c and b Ashwin 17
T. Hartley c Sarfaraz b Yadav 7
O. Robinson lbw b Yadav 0
S. Bashir not out 1
J. Anderson c Jurel b Ashwin 0
EXTRAS 0
TOTAL (all out, 53.5 overs) 145
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-19 (Duckett), 2-19 (Pope), 3-65 (Root), 4-110 (Crawley), 5-120 (Stokes), 6-120 (Bairstow), 7-133 (Hartley), 8-133 (Robinson), 9-145 (Foakes)
BOWLING: Ashwin 15.5-0-51-5; Jadeja 20-5-56-1; Siraj 3-0-16-0; Yadav 15-2-22-4
INDIA (2nd Innings):
R. Sharma not out 24
Y. Jaiswal not out 16
EXTRAS 0
TOTAL (for no wicket, eight overs) 40
STILL TO BAT: S. Gill, R. Patidar, S. Khan, R. Jadeja, D. Jurel, R. Ashwin, K. Yadav, A. Deep, M. Siraj
BOWLING: Root 4-0-17-0; Hartley 3-0-22-0; Bashir 1-0-1-0
Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2024
