Sinking feeling England on brink as India turn up heat
India surge to 481-run lead after all-rounder piles on agony Moeen and Leach each take four wickets for toiling tourists
A day of knife-twisting by India was led by Ravichandran Ashwin with blade in hand as he scored a century on his home ground to raise that rarest of sounds these days – a delirious crowd cheering.
They screamed with delight as Ashwin raced through the 90s and brought up his fifth Test hundred to rub English noses in the black soil.
With England three down for 53 by the close, it looked only a matter of time, with two days to play, before it would be 1-1 in the series, after India made 286, a 481-run cushion.
All that was left for England was to try to recover lost pride from a bruising match. In the last hour, batting was fraught with danger as Axar Patel, on debut, bowled with the pace and accuracy of Ravindra Jadeja, and Ashwin had Rory Burns caught at slip for 25 to cap his day.
With Patel spearing the ball into Dom Sibley’s pads and nightwatchman Jack Leach lasting one ball, Joe Root came in with England 50 for three and minutes to go. He was very lucky to survive an lbw, Nitin Menon, the on-field umpire, judging him outside the line when he was pinned on the back leg by Patel.
It was not a very good decision, the latest in some poor calls, and Virat Kohli argued with an umpire who had earlier told him off for running on the pitch. Kohli went too far, the top dog back and snarling, but not setting the right example by haranguing umpires.
Ashwin added 96 with Kohli, coming in at 106 for six when batting was tricky. The pair toughed it out and showed England how to make runs in difficult conditions. England dropped Ashwin twice and missed a sharp stumping, but he defended well, picked off bad balls and batted at a nice tempo, cashing in when the ball softened and batting became slightly easier.
Kohli’s innings was superb. He was faced with the toughest conditions, with prodigious turn and bounce when the ball was new. He spent 19 balls on a pair, and was dropped on two when a diving Burns, at extra cover, managed to get a hand to a low catch.
But once he worked his way through the difficult early stages of an innings on this pitch, the old footwork came back and he showed what a fine player of spin bowling he is, making 62 in 200 minutes.
Moeen Ali bowled better, taking four for 98, and improved the more he bowled, and Leach took four for 100. But England’s spinners have bowled 45 full tosses in two Tests to India’s 11, giving an idea of their lack of control. The two off-spinners have contributed 37 full tosses between them in the one game they have played each (Moeen 18, Dom Bess 19), by perhaps trying to bowl quicker and because neither has a grooved action.
Moeen and Leach are lucky to have Ben Foakes as their wing man. Foakes pulled off two brilliant stumpings in the innings, and three in the match, underscoring why it is so important to pick your most skilful keeper in Asia. He missed a sharp stumping off Ashwin on 70 off Moeen, although the ball took a slight deflection off the bat.
Foakes stood up to Stuart Broad, forcing batsmen to stay back, allowing the bowler to hit the powdery patch on a length that has caused such problems. It comes with risk, and the shorter reaction time meant Foakes gloved an edge off Ashwin, but he made half-chances that would have been beyond others and his three stumpings were the first in a Test by an Englishman since Alan Knott in 1968.
Ashwin’s century at No8 will be used to excuse the pitch, but this surface was underprepared and designed to suit India’s strengths. That is to be expected when a home team are 1-0 down and India have exploited their advantage and used the conditions better. England cannot harbour a grievance.
India lost three for 11 in the morning. Cheteshwar Pujara was unlucky to be run out, his bat sticking in the pitch, while Rohit Sharma was stumped by Foakes off balance.
Rishabh Pant was promoted with an eye to taking on Leach. This was a more straightforward stumping, Pant throwing everything at Leach, who tempted him out of his crease by tossing the ball up.
Moeen served up a full toss to allow Ajinkya Rahane to get off the mark, but a thick edge soon flew to Pope at short leg and India were 86 for five.
When Patel was lbw missing a straight ball from Moeen, England were on a roll. But, after lunch, the
innings turned. Broad bowled leg cutters with Foakes standing up and at one stage Olly Stone went around the wicket to bang the ball in at Kohli to try to stop the scoring.
Ben Stokes missed a catch off Ashwin on 28 and the lead stretched beyond 350. Kohli was ticked off by the umpire for running down the pitch and may have regretted his reaction when, later on, Menon, gave him out lbw to Moeen.
Ashwin was on 77 when last man Mohammed Siraj came in. Siraj did his bit, blocking determinedly, and Ashwin was not going to hang around. He went to 97 with the shot of the innings, a six off Moeen over midwicket, and to 99 with a push into the off side. The hundred came off a thick edge to third man.
Ian Botham took five wickets in an innings and scored a hundred in the same Test five times, and is now the only cricketer to have done it on more occasions than Ashwin, a champion cricketer set for a decisive say in this series.