In a what can be termed as complete one sided affair, Team India continued their splendid form in whites as the hosts defeated England by 10 wickets in the pink ball test. By virtue of the win India have taken a 2-1 lead in the Test series. Inspite of Joe Root's five wicket haul, the English team faltered in the second innings. They were shot out for 81. Axar started off with two wickets in the first over and just didn't relent post that. Ashwin though had his moment under the sun as he became the second fastest bowler to pick up 400 wickets.
The demons of Chepauk seemed to have stayed with them as the visitors struggled to put ball on bat against the spinners. Chasing a small total of 49, India comprehensively achieved the victory in just 7.4 overs and with 10 wickets in hand. 17 wickets fell in the match. First it was the Indian team, who were bundled out for 145 in reply to England's 112 in the first innings, losing their last 7 wickets for just 46 runs. Many thought that England might make a strong comeback in the Test but the spin duo of Axar Patel and R Ashwin ran through the England batting order in the second innings. Axar picked up his second fifer (a total of 11 wickets in the match), Ashwin scalped four to enter the record books -- fourth Indian to take 400 Test wickets after Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. Sundar also grabbed a wicket towards the end as England were bowled out for below 100. The win has allowed India to go on top of the World Test Championship rankings. They now need to win or draw the last Test to book a place in the WTC21 final which will be held in Lords.
