Ravichandran Ashwin bagged his 36th five-wicket haul as India handed England a huge innings and 64-run defeat in IND vs ENG 5th Test. The visitors were no match for India’s bowling as the Indian spinner single-handedly dismantled the line-up. With his mammoth win, India have sealed the series 4-1.
IND vs ENG 5th Test: Ashwin spins India to victory
Kuldeep Yadav (30) and Jasprit Bumrah (20) resumed play for India on Day 3 in Dharamshala. The duo couldn’t sustain for long as Anderson and Shoaib Bashir struck. Bashir managed to get a five-wicket haul as India were bowled out for 477 runs.
And then began the Ashwin magic. The veteran spinner, who played his 100th Test, quickly got rid of openers Ben Duckett (0) and Zak Crawley (2) in quick succession. Ollie Pope (19) was third England batter to walk back within the first 10 overs as Ashwin struck again.
The veteran spinner was relentless as he continued to pound misery on the visitors. He got the prized wicket of Ben Stokes (2) at the stroke of lunch. After lunch, he struck once again to complete his 36th fifer in Tests, as he got rid of Ben Foakes (0). Kuldeep Yadav joined Ashwin as he dismissed Jonny Bairstow for 39 runs.
Joe Root (84) was the lone warrior for the side as he staged a fightback against the Indian onslaught. He brought up his 61st half-century off 88 deliveries as defeat looked inevitable for England. Jasprit Bumrah joined the party, grabbing the wickets of Tom Hartley and Mark Wood, trapping both of them for a LBW.
Ravindra Jadeja put an end to the 48-run partnership between Root and Bashir as he clean bowled Bashir. Root was the final batter to be dismissed as Kuldeep Yadav bagged his 2nd wicket.