India vs England 2021, 3rd Test: Day 2 – India Claim 10-Wicket Victory After Spinners Dominate The Day

The day two of the day/night pink-ball Test was totally dramatic where the hosts India beat the visitors England by 10 wickets and they have taken the 2-1 lead in this four-match Test series with one match to go.

Starting the day on their overnight score of 99/3, India ended their first innings on 145 runs with the lead of 33 runs. But England were bundled out for just 81 runs and the Indian openers comfortably chased down the 49 runs target without losing any wicket.

India vs England 2021, 3rd Test: Day 2 – Joe Root’s fifer stunned the cricket world

The Indian opener Rohit Sharma and Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane added 15 runs of the day before the spinners started their magic. At first, Jack Leach sent back Rahane (7) and Rohit (66) in his two back-to-back overs. Then England Test captain Joe Root stunned everyone with his dominant off-spin bowling.

Before conceding any run, Root picked up three wickets as he dismissed Rishabh Pant (1), Washington Sundar (0) and Axar Patel (0). While Ravichandran Ashwin scored crucial 17 runs, he became the fourth victim of Root. Playing his 100th Test match, Ishant Sharma hit his first international six and remained not out on 10 runs while Root completed his maiden five-wicket haul in his professional career after dismissing Jasprit Bumrah (1).

While Root finished that innings with the incredible bowling figures of 6.2-3-8-5, Jack Leach managed the bowling figures of 20-2-54-4.

India vs England 2021, 3rd Test: Day 2 – Axar Patel again dominated and managed the record pink-ball Test match bowling figures

While India got the 33 runs lead after the first innings battle, England batting was shaken from the very first over as the local-boy Axar Patel dismissed the opener Zak Crawley (0) and Jonny Bairstow (0) while the visitors were yet to get off the mark.

Before crossing the 33-run mark, England lost another wicket as Patel dismissed Dom Sibley for 7 runs. Just after completing 50 runs in that innings, Ravichandran Ashwin broke the crucial fourth-wicket partnership of Joe Root and Ben Stokes, which went for 31 runs, as the off-spinner dismissed Stokes for 25 runs. Since then, the visitors failed to handle the Indian spinners.

Apart from Stokes, only Root (19) and Ollie Pope (12) managed to reach the double-digit marks.

Like the last two innings, Axar Patel claimed another five-wicket haul (5/32) as he recorded his first Test 10-wicket haul by finishing with the match bowling figures of 36.4-6-70-11. It is also the best bowling figures in a day/night Test match history. Ravichandran Ashwin took four wickets (4/48) and Washington Sundar ended that innings with a wicket in his first over of the match (1/1).

India vs England 2021, 3rd Test: Day 2 – No more twists in the fourth innings

While the fourth innings target was 49 runs, openers Rohit Sharma (25*) and Shubman Gill (15*) comfortably chased that target in attacking manners where they didn’t lose any wicket.

Brief Scores: England – 112 (Zak Crawley 53, Joe Root 17; Axar Patel 6/38) & 81 (Ben Stokes 25, Joe root 19; Axar Patel 5/32)

India – 145 (Rohit Sharma 66, Virat Kohli 27; Joe Root 5/8) & 49/0 (Rohit Sharma 25*, Shubman Gill 15*)

Result – India won the match by 10 wickets