On Day 4 of the second Test, India outplayed England for the Anthony de Mello Trophy, at the MA Chidambaram (Chepauk) Stadium in Chennai, on Tuesday. Axar Patel's five-for pushed the visitor onto the back foot, as the host has drawn level in the four-Test series.
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India had elected to bat first, as it posted 329 in the first innings, while England was bundled out for 134. Meanwhile, India extended its lead to 381 in the second, following all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin's terrific century, as England struggled in the final innings on the Chennai track.
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Resuming at the overnight score of 533, Daniel Lawrence and skipper Joe Root's pair ensured that they survive India's bowling onslaught. However, just 13 runs later, the former fell for 26 to Ashwin, after being stumped.
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Then, Root and Ben Stokes contributed to a 24-run stand, before the latter departed for mere three, at the score of 90, after being caught by skipper Virat Kohli at the slips off Ashwin again. It was 20 runs later, when incoming batsman, Ollie Pope handed Ishant Sharma a catch after attempting a sweep off spinner Axar Patel.
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Meanwhile, Root was dropped by Mohammed Siraj at fine-leg for 32, off chinaman Kuldeep Yadav. Nonetheless, the spinner managed to get rid of incoming wicketkeeper-batsman, Ben Foakes for just a couple, who handed a sitter to Axar at mid-wicket, as the lunch break was called in.
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The post-lunch session saw no respite for England, as at the same score, Root fell for 33 to Axar, after handing a surprise catch to Ajinkya Rahane in the slips. Ten runs later, Olly Stone was trapped leg-before for an unfortunate duck by the same man.
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It was then the final pair of Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad who decided to go after the bowlers. As the former played a quickfire knock of an 18-ball 43, including three fours and five sixes, he was stumped off Kuldeep, while India sealed the win by 317 runs.
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For the Indians, five bowlers troubled England enough. In the meantime, it was Axar and Ashwin, who were the most effective of all.Brief scores: India 329 & 286 (Kohli 62, Ashwin 106; Leach 4100, Moeen 498) beats England 134 & 1167 (Root 33*; Axar 560, Ashwin 353) by 317 runs.
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