From being competitive to losing the plot, England had been on the verge of conceding the lead at the start of the penultimate day’s play of the third Test. Cometh Super Sunday, India gave the visiting team the biggest reality check of the series.
From tightening its noose in the first half to winding the game up on the fourth evening itself, things moved swiftly in favour of Rohit Sharma and Co. as India took the series lead with a thumping 434-run win – its biggest ever victory margin in terms of runs – at the Niranjan Shah Stadium.
Shubman Gill and night-watcher Kuldeep Yadav saw off the early-morning spells. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan then treated England bowlers with disdain.
Elite club
Jaiswal’s record double – only the third instance of an Indian batter scoring double hundreds in consecutive Test matches, Sarfaraz’s second fifty on debut and the duo’s unbroken association of 172 off just 158 balls meant India declared its second essay at 430 for four halfway into the afternoon session.
Chasing a mammoth target of 557 England’s aggressive approach fizzled out for the second day in succession. Ravindra Jadeja used the home advantage to perfection as India skittled England out for a paltry 122.
R. Ashwin who had rushed home on Friday night due a family medical emergency, arrived in Rajkot on Sunday afternoon and took the field at the tea break. Ashwin was required to bowl just six overs, with Jadeja running through the batting order with his 13th five-wicket haul.
Had it not been for Shubman Gill’s bizarre run-out in the 90s, after being sent back by Kuldeep Yadav, Jaiswal wouldn’t have been able to resume his onslaught.
Having recovered from his backache that forced him to retire on 104 on Saturday evening, Jaiswal hardly looked in trouble. Once Sarfaraz joined him at the crease, the duo offered a real treat to the spectators.
Going berserk
Jaiswal went after Anderson, the peak of his assault came in the 85th over that saw him tonking the spearhead for three consecutive sixes – over fine-leg, extra cover and straight down the ground. Jaiswal added two more sixes to take his sixes count for the innings to 12, the joint-most by a batter in an innings in Test match history.
England’s chase got off on a wrong-foot with Ben Duckett being run-out thanks to confusion between the batters combined with Dhruv Jurel’s smart work in collecting Mohammed Siraj’s throw on the run and whipping the bails off.
England batters continued to sweep-and-miss to get Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav on the go. Once England lost Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Rehan Ahmed to be reeling from 50 for four to 50 for seven, it was all but clear that the game was to be over on Sunday itself.
It was fitting that Jaiswal was involved in the last action – completing a catch at long-off to hand Jadeja a five-for to add to the first innings hundred.
The fourth Test will be played in Ranchi from February 23.
India: 445 and 430 for 4 in 98 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 214 not out, Sarfaraz Khan 68 not out, Shubman Gill 91; Rehan Ahmed 1/108) England: 319 and 122 all out in 39.4 overs (Mark Wood 33; Ravindra Jadeja 5/41, Kuldeep Yadav 2/19).
Scoreboard
India 1st Innings: 445
England 1st Innings: 319
India 2nd Innings: 430/4 decl
England: 2nd Innings: Zak Crawley lbw b Bumrah 11 Ben Duckett run out 4 Ollie Pope c Sharma b Jadeja 3 Joe Root lbw b Jadeja 7 Jonny Bairstow lbw b Jadeja 4 Ben Stokes lbw b Kuldeep Yadav 15 Ben Foakes c Jurel b Jadeja 16 Rehan Ahmed c Mohammed Siraj b Kuldeep Yadav 0 Tom Hartley b Ashwin 16 Mark Wood c Jaiswal b Jadeja 33 James Anderson not out 1
Extras: (B-5, LB-4, NB-3) 12
Total: (All out, 39.4 overs) 122
Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-18, 3-20, 4-28, 5-50, 6-50, 7-50, 8-82, 9-91.
Bowling: Jasprit Bumrah 8-1-18-1, Mohammed Siraj 5-2-16-0, Ravindra Jadeja 12.4-4-41-5, Kuldeep Yadav 8-2-19-2, Ravichandran Ashwin 6-3-19-1.
