England 40/0 in pursuit of 405

Despite an early reprieve, key man Joe Root was dismissed by Mohammed Shami for 25 and with him went England’s hopes of saving the Test. Root was batting on just 9, when he clipped the ball through leg slip.

Having defended doggedly on the fourth evening, the visitors caved in without much resistance losing eight wickets for an addition of 71 runs with Ravichandran Ashwin (3/52) and debutant Jayant Yadav (3/30) being the wreckers-in-chief at the Dr YSR Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium which hosted its first ever Test match. Root reviewed but to no avail.

India bowled out England for 158 runs in the fourth innings.

“Even today, turning up to the ground 300 behind, it’s very easy to throw the towel in – but we put a lot of pressure on the Indians, taking early wickets and not letting them control the scoring rate and declare”. At least that was what had appeared from the way England batted in their second innings. Kohli made some smart bowling changes and has been rewarded with rewards. Yadav removed Stuart Broad (5) and James Anderson (0) on consecutive deliveries to cap off an impressive Test debut.

For India, Kohli scored a sparkling 167 in the first innings followed by a gritty 81 in the second knock.

“When it comes to Test cricket, our bowlers and as a team we are prepared to be in a situation where we have to work hard for our wickets but when we see a victory, we know that we can get eight more wickets”.

Ashwin ensured the inevitable wasn’t delayed too long when he bowled Zafar Ansari – England’s eighth wicket – for an 11-ball duck with just his second delivery after lunch.

However, whatever the result – and a great escape is among the possibilities – Cook’s defiance has sent out a warning to India that he will be a significant roadblock to their ambitions of sealing the series in the final three Tests. England were excellent with the ball in the second innings. It left England 87-2 and needing to bat out another 90 overs to save the match.

Fast bowler Stuart Broad and leg-spinner Adil Rashid claimed four wickets each to dismiss India for 204.

It was fascinating final two sessions where Cook (54, 188 balls) and 19-year-old Hameed (25, 144 balls) added 75 for the opening stand but more importantly consumed 50 out of the 150 overs that England require to bat in their second innings. But it was nice to get more than one wicket in an innings in India for the first time. India had to review the final decision to get it in their favour, and complete an emphatic victory to go 1-0 up in the series. They got back KL Rahul in place of Gautam Gambhir.

With the win, India took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, with the next Test now in Mohali later this week, while also extending their home unbeaten run to 16.

Paceman Broad got rid of Ajinkya Rahane (26) and Ashwin (7), while leg-spinner Rashid was indebted to Ben Stokes when he took a magnificent diving catch to end Kohli’s latest masterclass.