Root for starters

It got as good as it gets in his second over as Axar slid in from the Pattabhiraman End and made Root his first Test wicket—for a single-digit score, no less, easily the most prized dismissal of the tour so far. A sweeping Root had misread the heavy away turn on the ball and the top-edge was snapped up by Ashwin at short fine-leg. Axar roared with delight and later snuffed out the innings of Moeen Ali too, who, incidentally, had scored 146 in the first innings of the Chennai Test of 2016.

“Axar has been playing firstclass cricket for a while now, which has held him in good stead coming into Test cricket,” said Ashwin. “Getting Root as his first Test wicket must’ve been really special for him—very important wicket in the context of where the game stands. I think he’ll go really well in the second innings as well.”

Second innings in Chennai (anywhere in India for that matter) tend to be a paradise for leftarm spinners. But it was Ashwin who shone at that hour in the first Test with a six-for. While that came in a losing cause, the five-for this time around has put India on the brink of victory, especially after he cleaned up the dangerous Ben Stokes right after lunch.

Stokes had just about got his eye in, having been cautious for 32 balls. And had he cut loose, the day could well have had a different story. But the one Ashwin scripted involved Stokes playing all around a full ball to peg back the all-rounder’s offstump, and England’s slender hope of a counter-attack.

TV timing: 2nd Test, Day 3, Live on Star Sports 1 & HD 1,