India v England second Test report and scorecard: India make England suffer in heavy defeat

Scorecard: India v England second Test

India first innings: 329 (Rohit 161, Moeen 4-128)

India second innings: 286 (Ashwin 106, Moeen 4-98, Leach 4-100)

England first innings: 134 (Ashwin 5-43)

England second innings: 164 (Ali 43, Patel 5-60, Ashwin 3-53)

India win by 317 runs

Day four report

England succumbed to the inevitable crushing defeat on day four of the second Test against India, out-spun and outdone on their way to a 317-run loss in Chennai.

The damage had already been done over the course of three chastening days, with England resuming on 53 for three chasing two equally unrealistic options if they were to get out of jail and preserve their 1-0 series lead.

To win they would need to turn their overnight score into a world-record chase of 482 or to draw they would need to bat for six full sessions on a spinning, spitting minefield.

In the end, and to no great surprise, they came nowhere close to either outcome and were bowled out for 164.

Debutant Axar Patel finished with five wickets and there was another couple for player-of-the-match Ravichandran Ashwin, who ended the Test with eight to go with his brilliant second-innings century from number eight.

The margin was England’s heaviest defeat by runs in India, a beating that will need to be parked if the tourists are to hit back in the day-night third Test in Ahmedabad.

There was precious little optimism to take from this final day, but captain Joe Root clung on for over a session for 33 and Moeen Ali added some late spark by hammering five sixes in a bruising cameo before his dismissal ended the match.

Reaction

Joe Root: “Moeen [Ali] has chosen to go home. It’s obviously been a very tricky tour for him.

“As we mentioned at the start (of the winter), if players feel like they need to get out of the bubble, then that’s been an option. It is really important that we stand by that.

“That decision has been made. Hopefully he feels better for it. With Moeen it wasn’t about asking if he wanted to stay, it was a decision; he had chosen.

“Of course we wanted as many players available for as long as possible, but you also want them to be very comfortable here and for Mo, he obviously wants to be at home with his family and we completely understand that.

“If you look at this tour, it’s been a really difficult one for him, having Covid, being in his room for such long periods of time, and I think we’ve come to a point where he wants to get out. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision for him, but it’s one we completely respect and understand.

“In these times – with Covid, with bubble life, with the amount of cricket we’ve got and trying to factor it all in together – it is tough.

“We just have to make sure that we get the best out of the players that are here. My job is to manage the squad of players that we have and I’m trying to do that to the best of my ability.

“We’re one-all in a very exciting series, with two games at a new stadium and a pink ball game coming up. We are very much looking forward to getting stuck into it.”

Day three report

England were facing up to a huge defeat in the second Test against India after Ravichandran Ashwin’s brilliant century and the loss of three late wickets left them with nowhere to turn after three days in Chennai.

Joe Root’s side have been outplayed on all fronts on a pitch offering lavish spin from the first session of the match and, with a world record chase of 482 on the table, slumped to 53 for three at stumps.

Ashwin hit 106 from number eight to grind the tourists down in the field and was back in the game after swapping bat for ball, dismissing opener Rory Burns for 25.

Debutant Axar Patel took out Dom Sibley and nightwatchman Jack Leach with his left-arm spin and was flabbergasted not to add Root to his collection, when DRS failed to uphold a seemingly clearcut lbw.

Ashwin’s runs will perhaps go down as cosmetic if England fall several hundred short, as they well might, but it was no less impressive for that.

Not only did it quieten some of the more excitable critiques of the surface – which has drawn some extreme reviews from famous faces of yesteryear – but it further underlined his status as an authentic all-round great.

Long acknowledged as one his generation’s best spin bowlers he now has five Test hundreds to his name – three of which have come alongside a five-wicket haul. Only Sir Ian Botham, who managed that rare feat five times, can better that.

His five for 43 helped condemn the tourists to 134 all out first time around and he will have designs on another.

The situation was already stark for England as they started play 249 behind, but the first hour offered a chink of light as they picked up four wickets and basked in Ben Foakes’ exemplary glovework.

On the occasion of his 28th birthday, and with two years in the wilderness behind him, he took the chance to show off his value.

Having already top-scored from number seven the Surrey man completed two brilliant stumpings and an early run out on a pitch that made standing up to the stumps a desperately tricky affair.

With one stumping already in the bag, Foakes became the first England keeper since Alan Knott in 1968 to take three in a match. The rested Jos Buttler, by way of contrast, has one in 50 caps.

Cheteshwar Pujara was first to fall, run out after jamming his bat in the turf, before Foakes combined twice with Leach. Playing the role of ultimate opportunist to remove first-innings centurion Rohit Sharma he collected a spitting delivery at shoulder height as it zipped past the outside edge and flicked the bails in one smooth movement.

Rishabh Pant was next, the left-hander cut in two as the ball ripped through the gate. Foakes started well outside off but scampered across to take it cleanly down the leg side, parting the stumps as it settled in his gloves.

India slipped to 86 for five when Moeen Ali had Ajinkya Rahane caught at bat-pad then 106 for six when Patel was trapped lbw from round the wicket but that was as good as it got.

The tumble of wickets stopped when Virat Kohli was joined by Ashwin, with the pair gradually prising the enthusiasm from their opponents over the course of a 96-run stand.

Kohli was on a mission to avenge his day one duck, watching the ball intently, playing it in front of his eyes and scored with certainty. The only real surprise came when he was trapped lbw for 62 as Moeen attacked from round the wicket.

Ashwin had been using his own methods, using a big stride to smother the turn and scoring well with the sweep. He followed Kohli to 50 and became even more inventive after his skipper departed, swatting Olly Stone flat-batted for boundaries and slashing with and against the spin depending on length.

He lost Kuldeep Yadav to Moeen and Ishant Sharma to Leach, but got to three figures with the support of number 11 Mohammed Siraj and some powerful blows.

He was last out dragging Stone into his stumps but was soon back in the game, taking Burns’ edge on seven but seeing the chance canon off Pant’s knee. Sibley had no such luck, lbw for three stepping deep in his crease to Patel.

Ashwin had Burns caught at slip off a leading edge and Patel made a mockery of Leach’s arrival by having him caught at leg-slip for a golden duck.

That meant Root would face the music and he should have been lbw for two to Patel, whose appeal was turned down on the pitch and, less understandably, by the technology which appeared to wrongly judge the point of impact.

He will resume with the lively Dan Lawrence (19no) but the task appears doomed.

Day two report

Rohit Sharma made a brilliant century as India reached 300 for six at close on day one of the second Test against England.

Only Ben Foakes was able to negotiate fiendishly difficult conditions against a quality attack led by the relentless Ravichandran Ashwin, with his 42 not out ensuring England could not be asked to follow-on.

But a 195-run lead placed all the cards in India’s favour and they finished the day 249 in front after reaching stumps on 54 for one.

The nature of the pitch continues to generate plenty of heat among fans and pundits, but after six sessions it was beyond argument that the hosts had used it more productively.

India ended day one on 300 for six and proceeded to lose their last four wickets for 29, Moeen Ali and Olly Stone sharing the spoils. The majority of the runs came from the bat of Rishabh Pant, who eventually ran out of partners on 58 not out.

Moeen took two wickets in his first over of the day, the first with a good piece of bowling to beat Axar Patel’s edge but an even better piece of wicketkeeping to have him stumped. Foakes followed the turn well then seamlessly flicked the bails as the batsman’s momentum drew him forward.

Two balls later there was a less edifying spectacle as Ishant Sharma spooned a full toss straight to short mid-wicket.

With Pant getting warmed up it took Stone’s introduction to bring a swift conclusion, with both Ishant and Mohammed Siraj nicking behind. The clatter of wickets will not have eased the minds of the English openers and neither Rory Burns nor Dom Sibley survived the new ball.

Burns managed only three deliveries before Ishant had him lbw from round the wicket, clipped in front of leg stump for a third duck in his last five outings.

Sibley started more convincingly, scoring each of the first 16 runs, before an attempted sweep off Ashwin bumped the back of his bat on its way to an animated Virat Kohli at leg-slip.

With first-innings knocks of 228, 186 and 218 to his name in the last three Tests, Root’s arrival carried unreasonably high expectations. For the first time this year, he fell well short.

Having profited handsomely from his arsenal of sweeps in recent weeks, he paid the price for mis-timing one with just six to his name. The England captain knew from the moment of contact, a top edge that looped obligingly to short fine-leg and gave Patel a memorable debut wicket.

Dan Lawrence lasted 52 balls for his nine but it was a tortured existence and came to an end off the last ball before lunch as Ashwin kept the close catchers in business. From 39 for four, things took a further turn for the worse when Ben Stokes was comprehensively bowled by the classy Ashwin.

Beaten through the air and off the pitch, he paid with his off stump and shook his head in dismay before making his way.

England found a shred of respite in a 35-run stand between the Surrey duo of Ollie Pope and Foakes, who showed solid techniques before Pope was brilliantly caught down the leg-side by Pant.

That gave Siraj a wicket with his first ball on home soil and ruined England’s only burgeoning partnership.

Hope faded fast before the tea break as Moeen was caught at slip, via an outside edge into the keeper’s thigh and Stone chipped Ashwin loosely to short midwicket.

Foakes continued to leave a positive impression in his first Test knock for two years, navigating the total just past the follow-on mark before India finished things up.

Pant managed his second brilliant catch after Leach nicked Ishant behind and Ashwin wrapped a five-for by castling Stuart Broad for a duck.

England’s struggles were put into stark relief as the Indian openers made use of their heavy lead to attack with relative impunity. Shubman Gill and day one centurion Rohit Sharma took 35 from the first seven overs, as if to defend the wearing pitch from any incoming criticism.

Gill did not last, lbw to Leach as he picked out an attacking line and got one to straighten, but Rohit made it to the close after giving up a tough stumping chance.

Even Foakes could not make the most of it as the ball ripped past leg stump and England left the pitch at stumps with several mountains to climb.

Day one report

Rohit Sharma dictated terms with a brilliant century on day one of India’s second Test against England, who saw Moeen Ali celebrate his comeback by dismissing Virat Kohli with a wonder ball in Chennai.

Rohit piled up 18 fours and two sixes on his way to a free-flowing 161, a wonderful performance that drove the hosts to 300 for six on a dry, spinning pitch that is likely to make batting a hazardous pursuit as the game progresses.

England had started impressively after losing an important toss, reducing the hosts to 86 for three when the returning Moeen floated one out of the hand and ripped it back through the gate to dismiss Kohli for a duck.

The Indian captain’s astonished reaction as he held his ground – briefly unwilling or unable to process his fate – made for a memorable moment, amplified by the stunned silence of the 15,000 fans who provided the country’s first live crowd in more than a year.

But Rohit’s fluent scoring in a stand of 162 with Ajinkya Rahane (67) swung the momentum and set a bar that could prove hard to match on a surface that looks ready to break up dramatically.

Jack Leach eventually ended Rohit’s stay when he picked out deep midwicket with a slog-sweep, but the tourists would have been furious had they not added the scalp of Rahane before the close.

He should have been given out for 66 when the ball hit pad and glove on its way to short-leg, but the decision was rejected on-field then inexplicably turned down on DRS. Television umpire Anil Chaudhary did not even look at the relevant piece of footage, despite captain Joe Root appearing to make a very specific request.

That potential flashpoint lost some of its spice when the expensive Moeen produced another big-spinning beauty to bowl Rahane in the very next over, with England quietly handed back their lost review.

England had started by naming Olly Stone ahead of Warwickshire team-mate Chris Woakes in the last of four changes to their winning side from the first Test. Stone’s only previous Test appearance had come in the summer of 2019, one game before Moeen last donned his England whites.

The paceman made up for lost time as he struck with his third ball of the day, Shubman Gill plumb lbw after offering no stroke. That was the highlight of Stone’s day but there was plenty to enjoy, as he hit a top speed of 93mph and showed admirable control despite a notable lack of first-class cricket in 2020.

Rohit spent the next 90 minutes squashing England’s optimism, peppering the boundary ropes with drives, cuts and a pitch-perfect array of sweeps off the spinners. When Ben Stokes came on, he even leaned back and hauled him for six over mid-wicket.

He raced to 50 in just 47 balls from a team total of just 60. Rohit was mastering tough conditions at speed but Leach opened up the other end when Cheteshwar Pujara lunged forward and fed Stokes at slip.

That brought Kohli to the middle, where he lasted just five deliveries. After conceding 22 from his first four overs Moeen conjured something special, floating it up and turning it lavishly to beat the drive. Moeen exploded in delight but Kohli was slow to go, perplexed by the manner of his defeat.

The afternoon session saw India consolidate their position, Rohit’s free-flowing knock gearing down to something more methodical as he reached three figures. After scoring his first 80 at better than a run-per-ball before lunch, it took him another 58 deliveries to convert his seventh Test ton.

Rahane grew into his innings as the duo began to grind away at England, with Moeen particularly unable to dry up the scoring after his big breakthrough.

England needed something to break the partnership and Ben Foakes, replacing the rested Jos Buttler, came desperately close to a genius stumping of Rohit. His effort was waved away with unusual haste by Chaudhary but his superb knock was over soon after, swiping Leach to out to Moeen in the deep.

The umpiring was even more remiss when Leach got the better of Rahane, England correctly suspecting a brush off the glove which Chaudhary declined to check.

Rishabh Pant hit a lively 33 not out before stumps, but Root’s off-breaks got England’s sixth of the day when Ravichandran Ashwin pushed to short-leg.