Left-arm spinner Axar Patel’s five for 60 helped India beat England by 317 runs and level the four-game series 1-1. The visitors resumed from their overnight score of 53/3 needing another 429 runs to win. They somehow managed to survive the morning session but were out soon after the lunch interval.
Patel became the sixth Indian spinner to pick a fifer on Test debut when he trapped Olly Stone leg before the wicket in his second over after lunch on Day 4. Patel had picked the all-important wicket of England captain Joe Root in his first over after lunch. Other Indian spinners to achieve this feat are V V Kumar (1961), Dilip Doshi (1979), Narendra Hirwani (1988), Amit Mishra (2008), and R Ashwin (2011).
Earlier, in the morning session, Ravichandran Ashwin scalped two, while Patel and Kuldeep Yadav picked a wicket each as England were reduced to 116/7.
The first session saw four wickets falling and 63 runs being scored from 29.3 overs. England survived six overs before Ashwin struck with his first ball on Day 4, firing the ball down the leg side on seeing Dan Lawrence step out—Rishabh Pant pulled off a brilliant stumping.
Ben Stokes along with skipper Joe Root played some cautious shots to rebuild the England innings. The partnership survived for 12 overs.
While Ashwin and Patel stole the show in the early hours, Yadav hogged the limelight when he dismissed Stokes just before the concluding minutes of the first session.
Stokes departed after scoring eight runs off 51 balls as England lost half their side for 90 runs in the second innings.
Ollie Pope stitched a 20-run stand with Root to take England over the 100-run mark before he top-edged on the sweep and was caught by Ishant Sharma.
Earlier, Ashwin's scintillating century helped India set England a target of 482 runs at the M A Chidambaram Stadium on Monday. Ashwin played a knock of 106 runs before the hosts were bowled out for 286 in the final session of Day 3.
After losing openers early on Monday, England sent Jack Leach as nightwatchman but that move did not work. Leach was sent back to the pavilion on a single ball duck by Patel. Root and Lawrence played cautiously and made sure that the side did not suffer any more hiccups.
In the final session on Day 3, 31.5 overs were bowled as both teams together scored 118 runs, with five wickets lost.
Scores in brief: England 134 and 164 (Ali 43; Axar Patel 5-60); India 329 and 286.
