Zak Crawley top-scored with 73 as England were bowled out for 292; Captain Ben Stokes (11) run out cheaply; follow over-by-over text commentary of third Test in Rajkot from 3.30am on February 15 (first ball at 4am)
Tuesday 6 February 2024 10:52, UK
A determined India attack denied England a record chase of 399 as they sealed a 106-run victory on day four of the second Test in Vizag, levelling the five-match series at 1-1.
Zak Crawley (73) anchored much of England’s innings, smashing his second half-century of the match, but most of the middle order were dismissed in their twenties as India's target proved out of the tourists' reach.
Ravichandran Ashwin (3-72) and Jasprit Bumrah (3-46) were the pick of India’s bowlers as England were eventually bowled out for 292.
England’s hopes for another epic win were all but gone when their captain Ben Stokes (11) was run out by Shreyas Iyer after a damaging double-strike on the stroke of lunch saw Crawley and Jonny Bairstow (26) removed in back-to-back overs.
Ben Foakes and Tom Hartley provided some resistance lower down the order with their 55-run partnership, the highest of England’s second innings, but they were ultimately undone by Bumrah as they both fell on 36.
England still required 118 runs when last man James Anderson (5) came out to bat, but Bumrah wrapped up victory for India two overs later with a reverse-swinging delivery that smashed Hartley's off-stump and gave him his ninth wicket of the match.
Resuming on 67-1, England started the day in their typical aggressive manner when Crawley drove Bumrah through the covers for four in his second over.
Nightwatchman Rehan Ahmed also got stuck into Axar Patel, smashing three boundaries off the spinner, who had the last laugh when he trapped the 19-year-old lbw for 23.
Ollie Pope (23) was next to fall when his attempted cut off Ashwin caught an outside edge that flew hard to India captain Rohit Sharma, who took a sharp catch at first slip.
Joe Root then departed for 16 to give Ashwin his third wicket after hitting two boundaries and one six during his frenetic 10-ball outing, which came after the former captain had sustained a finger injury on day three that may have contributed to the difficulty he faced with the bat.
Perhaps the biggest blow to England's hopes came when Crawley was pinned lbw on review by Kuldeep Yadav and, next over, Bairstow (26) fell victim to Bumrah after he was struck on the back leg. That left England 194-6 at lunch and still requiring 205 runs to win.
A moment of brief hesitation for a quick single then cost Stokes his wicket when a direct hit from Shreyas at mid-wicket shifted the momentum of the game even more in India’s favour, with the tourists now seven down and still 179 runs short.
Ashwin thought he had his 500th Test wicket when Hartley was given out caught at slip, but the decision was overturned on review, showing the ball ballooning up off the batter's forearm when he attempted to reverse-sweep the spinner. Ashwin will now have to wait until at least the third Test to reach his milestone.
Hartley and Foakes frustrated the India attack with a handy eighth-wicket partnership of 55, the highest of England’s second innings, but it was broken after Bumrah was brought back on in the 65th over when Foakes was out caught and bowled off a slower ball
Mukesh Kumar then picked up his first wicket of the match when he dismissed Shoaib Bashir for an eight-ball duck, the England debutant eventually poking through to Srikar Bharat to move India one wicket away from victory.
It was fitting then that Bumrah, who starred with 6-45 in England's first innings, sealed the deal for his side when he flattened Hartley's off stump with an outswinger that leaves the series tantalisingly poised tied at one apiece.
England captain Ben Stokes on TNT Sports:
"We had full belief we could chase 399 down. The way in which we go about taking on challenges is what we are about. The way we applied ourselves and tried to put the India bowling attack under pressure was great.
"We didn't end up on the right side of the result but congratulations to India. It was another great game to be a part of.
"Looking at Tom [Hartley], Bash [Shoaib Bashir] and Rehan [Ahmed], with few Test matches between them, to put in the performances they did with the ball, with effort and output, was incredible.
"They showed a lot of maturity and skill beyond their years and that is something I am very proud of."
India captain Rohit Sharma on TNT Sports:
"Bumrah is a champion and has been for a while - but when you win a game like that you have to look at the overall performance as well.
"We were good with the bat and we wanted our bowlers to step up. They did that.
"Jaiswal looks like a very good player. He understands his game really well. I hope he stays humble. He has a long way to go but he is taking the most of every opportunity and his double hundred was exceptional."
Follow over-by-over text commentary from the third Test between India and England, in Rajkot, live on skysports.com and the Sky Sports App from 3.45am on Thursday 15 February (first ball at 4am).
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