India v England: Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin wrap up second Test win

  • Published
  • comments
Joe Root is dismissedImage source, AP
Image caption,

England lost eight wickets in 38.1 overs on the fifth day

Second Test, Visakhapatnam (day five):

India 455 & 204: Kohli 81, Broad 4-33, Rashid 4-82

England 255 & 158: Cook 54, Jayant 3-30, Ashwin 3-52

India won by 246 runs

India bowled England out for 158 to complete a 246-run win in the second Test on the fifth day in Visakhapatnam.

From 87-2 in pursuit of a notional 405, England's only realistic target was to bat through the day to salvage a draw.

But on a surface offering great assistance to India's spinners, England lost eight wickets for 66 runs, with Jayant Yadav taking 3-30.

India lead the five-match series 1-0 - the third Test in Mohali begins on Saturday.

England will travel north with concerns over pace bowler Stuart Broad, who has a strained tendon in his foot, and the form of batsman Ben Duckett.

While there was no disgrace in England being bowled out on a worn surface - the 97.3 overs they faced was their third longest fourth innings in a Test in India - the tourists will pinpoint a second evening where they were reduced to 80-5 as the reason why the match was lost.

Image source, AP

Horror session costs England

England, heavy underdogs at the beginning of the series, had the better of the drawn first Test in Rajkot and here recovered from losing the toss and a mixed first day with the ball to bowl India out for 455.

With the surface always likely to deteriorate at the end of the match, it was vital for England to get up towards India's total in the first innings.

Instead, with the surface blameless, England gifted away a collapse of four wickets for 29 runs and the game was as good as gone.

Despite a whole-hearted bowling display in India's second innings and the stoic rearguard of openers Alastair Cook and Haseeb Hameed on the fourth afternoon, the tourists were left with far too much to do on the final day.

Duckett creates problem for England

Northamptonshire left-hander Duckett opened the batting in the drawn series in Bangladesh, making 56 in the second innings of the second Test defeat.

Since being moved down to number four in India, he has made only 18 runs in three innings as off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin exposed a technique that sees him plant his front foot down the line of leg stump.

Here Duckett was removed for the third time in succession by Ashwin, somehow gloving an awful short delivery into his thigh pad to be caught by wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.

"Duckett has talent, but he's anxious and tense," said former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott. "They need to find someone else for the next Test. That doesn't mean his career is over, but he needs a break."

Options for replacing Duckett are limited. Of the touring squad, Gary Ballance has not made more than 17 in his past six Test innings, while wicketkeeper Jos Buttler, who could play as a specialist batsman, has featured in only one first-class match since being dropped by England 13 months ago.

Image source, Reuters
Image caption,

Ben Duckett averages 15.71 with the bat in four Tests

India sprint to victory

India, boosted by removing Hameed and Cook late on the fourth evening, brilliantly exploited the conditions on the final day to extend their four-year unbeaten home record to 13 wins and three draws.

Ashwin and fellow spinner Ravi Jadeja had the ball turning, shooting and spitting, close fielders swarmed and appealed constantly, all while England did little more than play back on their stumps in a bid for shotless survival.

Jadeja got one to jump at Moeen Ali before Jayant turned an off-break past the defence of Ben Stokes.

Joe Root, who should have been caught at leg slip on seven off Ashwin and successfully overturned a caught-behind decision off the same bowler, played across Mohammed Shami to be leg before, with the paceman then having Adil Rashid guide to Saha.

Ashwin scuttled one through Zafar Ansari to become the leading Test wicket-taker of 2016, with Jayant trapping Broad and James Anderson lbw in successive balls, the latter registering a king pair, to leave the fluent Jonny Bairstow unbeaten on 34.

'England went down like a pack of cards' - analysis

Former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott

England have a habit of collapsing. They go down like a pack of cards, like dominoes - call it what you want. This pitch is not a minefield.

England have depth in their batting and good seamers, but there have been concerns over an opener and a number four for a while. Joe Root has moved up to three, which means we now have a problem at number four. Hameed looks the part as an opener but he's only 19. They have collapses, and that's what hurts them.

Former England batsman Michael Vaughan

The tour party was selected strangely. Gary Ballance is the reserve batsman, but he's left-handed and not in form. That leaves Jos Buttler, who is really the reserve wicketkeeper and has played no cricket either. There's no harm in adding someone. I'd go with someone like Sam Billings.

Former England off-spinner Vic Marks

England have been outplayed and ultimately lost it on the second evening when all those wickets fell, but I don't sense this is a team about to disintegrate under the pressure of touring India. There will be team changes, but there is fight and purpose amongst some of the batsman and they have bowled well.

England fight in vain - the stats

Sorry, we can't display this part of the article any more.
  • The 246-run defeat is England's second heaviest loss to India in terms of runs

  • England needed 69.3 overs to reach 100, their slowest since the Test against West Indies at Port of Spain in 1974

  • The 97.3 overs they faced was the third longest they have batted in the fourth innings in a Test in India

  • Six England batsmen in succession were out lbw over both innings, the first time a team have lost six successive wickets to that mode of dismissal in a Test

  • James Anderson made his 21st Test duck, an England record. It the first king pair by an England batsman since 1906, and England's third in history

'I'm comfortable with Buttler playing as a batter'

Media caption,

India v England: Alastair Cook & Trevor Bayliss upbeat despite loss

England coach Trevor Bayliss on England's batting: "It is certainly something Alastair Cook and I will sit down and have a chat about. Ben Duckett has probably worked harder than anyone else in the nets but it show it is a long way between county cricket and Test match cricket

"I'm more than comfortable with Jos Buttler playing as a batter. He's been hitting the ball quite well in the nets."

England captain Alastair Cook: "The first day was crucial - it was a good toss to win. We saw the first day was easiest to bat. You can see the scoring rates - it became harder.

"In India you've got to score first-innings runs and try to get parity. We lost those five wickets but from that moment on we showed a lot of character and fight."

India captain Virat Kohli: "There's not much to think about for the next Test. We've been playing some really good cricket. We don't have to be complacent at all. We have nice momentum.

"We've come back from tough situations. England have played quality cricket. We need to strike the right balance of not getting too desperate and not relaxing too much either."

Image source, Twitter

Around the BBC

Related internet links

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.