IND vs ENG: 5th Test, Day 3, Talking Points – Ashwin spins victory in India’s favor

India won the fifth Test by an innings and 64 runs to win the series by a comprehensive 4-1 margin against England. The match got over in the second session on Day 3 as the England batters were outclassed by the in-form Indian bowling line-up.

England started the day on a positive note as they took the last two Indian wickets for just four runs. The hosts were bowled out for 477, registering a mammoth first-innings lead of 259 runs. Shoaib Bashir was the pick of the England bowlers as he toiled hard and bagged a five-for. Meanwhile, James Anderson got his 700th Test wicket.

In their second innings, the tourists lost their first three wickets for just 36 runs and it was a sign of things to come for them. Jonny Bairstow came out all guns blazing and tried to score some quick runs. His entertaining knock of 39 runs off 31 balls was ended by Kuldeep Yadav. Joe Root batted beautifully at one end but no other batter could offer him adequate support. In the end, the former England captain was dismissed by Kuldeep for 84 as the Three Lions were bowled out for 195.

Talking Points:

1. Shoaib Bashir bags second five-for in the series

Shoaib Bashir did not have even a four-for in first-class cricket before arriving in India. He bagged his maiden five-for in red-ball cricket in the fourth Test in Ranchi. He backed it up with another five-for in Dharamsala, finishing with figures of 5/173 in 46.1 overs.

2. Ravichandran Ashwin breaks legendary Anil Kumble’s record

Ravichandran Ashwin picked up a five-for in England’s second innings on Saturday, March 9. He took the new ball and dismissed the top three England batters inside the first 10 overs. He returned later in the innings and accounted for the wickets of Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes. The Tamil Nadu off-spinner ended with figures of 5/77 in 14 overs. This was his 36th five-wicket haul. He went past Anil Kumble’s tally of 35 five-fors. No other Indian bowler has picked up more five-fors than Ashwin in Test cricket.

3. James Anderson picks up 700th Test wicket

The legendary James Anderson dismissed Kuldeep Yadav earlier in the day to become the third bowler in Test cricket to get 700 wickets. Only Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708) have more wickets than him. Anderson finished with two wickets in India’s first innings.