When India had a lead over 300 at the end of Day 4, England opener Ben Duckett was asked about a realistic target for them in the third Test. Duckett said “The more, the better”, confident of England’s ‘Bazball’ approach. He even tried to take some credit for India’s attacking display in Rajkot. However, his comment did not age well as England were bundled out for a paltry 122 in the massive run chase of 557 after Yashasvi Jaiswal’s record-breaking ton frustrated the bowlers. The 434-run win is India's biggest win by runs in Test cricket history (by runs). The Rohit Sharma-led side are now leading the five-match series by 2-1.
Gill’s unfortunate run out
Starting Day 4 at 196/2 with a 322-run lead in the bag, Kuldeep Yadav took an aggressive approach against Tom Hartley and smashed him for a maximum. Kuldeep tried to attack whereas Shubman Gill inched closer to his hundred. But Gill missed the opportunity to hit back-to-back centuries as he was run out after a mix-up with Yadav. He scored 91 runs from 151 balls including nine fours and a couple of sixes.
Jaiswal walked out to bat after getting retired hurt on Day 3. The centurion did not go after the bowlers straightaway. Meanwhile, Rehan Ahmed got the better of Kuldeep. He scored 27 runs from 91 balls. Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan turned on the attacking mode hitting Joe Root for a six each. At the end of first session, India were 314/4.
Jaiswal, Sarfaraz go berserk
Jaiswal reached his 150 from 192 balls. He went on to smash James Anderson for three consecutive sixes. Meanwhile, Sarfaraz hit boundaries and reached his second fifty on debut. He took 65 balls to reach the milestone. Jaiswal reached his double ton from 231 deliveries and followed it up with two consecutive sixes off Root.
At the drinks break, it looked like skipper Rohit Sharma had declared. Duckett and Zak Crawley thought so too but he returned them to the field. Sarfaraz inflicted more damage with two sixes and a four off Ahmed. After one over, Rohit declared. Sarfaraz remained unbeaten for 68 off 72 balls including six fours and three sixes. On the other end, Jaiswal's 214 off 236 was laced with 14 fours and 12 sixes. He equalled Wasim Akram's record for most sixes in a Test innings.
Openers lay down weapons
England openers did not get the run chase off to a good start. Contrary to the Bazball approach, they defended against Indian pacers. After a mix-up, Duckett was run out as Dhruv Jurel sprinted toward the stumps to pull it off. Just before the tea break, Jasprit Bumrah trapped Zak Crawley in front of the stumps. England were 18/2 going into the break.
No fight from big names
In the last session, Jadeja struck early to dismiss Ollie Pope as he edged one to slip fielder. Jonny Bairstow got off the mark but that's all he did. He got out lbw in Jadeja's next over. Root and Stokes were watchful but Jadeja struck again to trap another batter in front of the stumps. Root went for a sweep but missed the ball. In the next over, Stokes attempted to the sweep but met with the same end as his former skipper. He scored 15 runs from 39 balls.
Out of the blue, Rehan went for an attacking shot hitting Kuldeep over mid-on but he could not clear Mohammed Siraj who took an easy catch. From 50/7, Ben Foakes and Hartley tried to stitch a partnership. But they could not stop Jadeja. A top-edge off Foakes' bat was caught by Jurel as he departed after scoring 16 runs. In the next over, Ravichandran Ashwin got his first wicket of the innings. Hartley got bowled after scoring 16 runs.
Wood entertains but Jadeja bags fifer
While Jadeja was searching for his fifth wicket, Mark Wood went berserk. He hit the left-arm spinner for three fours and a six. But Jadeja had his prey in the end. Wood departed after an entertaining 15-ball 33 as England were bowled out for 122, losing the match by 434 runs, their second-biggest Test defeat by runs.
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