Sport

Ashwin follows up with the bat as India move towards huge victory

England chasing an improbable 482 after home favourite notches fairytale century

India’s Ravi Ashwin scored a fine hundred on day three against England. Photograph: William West/Getty/AFP

Ali Martin
Mon Feb 15 2021 - 13:22

Second Test day three: England 53-3 off 19 overs and 134 off 59.5 overs England 134 (B Foakes 42*, R Ashwin 5-43) trail India 286 off 85.5 overs (R Ashwin 106, V Kohli 62, M Ali 4-98) and 329 off 95.5 overs (R Sharma 161, A Rahane 67, R Pant 58, M Ali 4-128, O Stone 3-47) by 429 runs.

A third day of one-way traffic in this second Test saw Ravichandran Ashwin send his hometown crowd positively gaga, compiling the sweetest of centuries before India began what has long become an inevitable march to a 1-1 scoreline.

Only the sourest of sleep-deprived England supporters watching back at home could begrudge Ashwin his moment in the sun after tea, when a skewed edge off Moeen Ali ran away fine to bring up three figures and spark wild celebrations around the Chepauk Stadium.

Here was a son of Tamil Nadu further stamping an indelible mark on this second Test in Chennai. Having claimed five for 43 during England’s sorry 134 all out in their first innings, Ashwin became the first all-rounder since Garfield Sobers in 1966 at Headingley to compile a century against them in the same match.

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It was the third time Ashwin has achieved this special double in Test cricket - only Ian Botham, with five, has done it more - and when his 106 was eventually snuffed out by Olly Stone, chopping on to briefly suck the life out of the ground, India were 286 all out to set England an improbable 482 to win.

By stumps the tourists had limped to 53 for three from 19 panicked overs, their sole consolation coming from the knowledge that going into next week’s pink-ball third Test in Ahmedabad all square was a situation they would have snapped various hands off to achieve at the start of this two-month tour.

Ashwin inevitably struck during a late passage of play that saw England’s batsmen caged in and struggling for air, teasing an edge to second slip off Rory Burns on 25. It came in between Axar Patel’s removals of Dom Sibley on three and nightwatchman Jack Leach, and could easily have been followed by a second in the final over before stumps when Joe Root survived an lbw shout.

Virat Kohli was not impressed when his review was struck down here, Root having been saved by umpire’s call on impact. But India’s captain still went back into the dressing room knowing it would simply be a matter of time on this tricky (but not insurmountable) Chennai pitch before parity was achieved.

England were already staring at defeat when Ashwin strode out to the crease at 106 for six in the morning. The lead had just ticked past 300 and Kohli was looking in the mood to not simply address his first innings duck, but grasp the swirling debate about the surface and stuff it in a blender.

While Kohli certainly achieved this, crafting a typically bristling 62, Ashwin rammed the point home further through a combination of solid defence, smart sweeps and some dominant straight drives off the largely neutered Stuart Broad. His tennis-style smash off Stone to bring up his half-century was inventive; his slog-swept six off Moeen to reach 97 simply imperious.

It was not chanceless. Ashwin was dropped by Ben Stokes on 56, the first slip perhaps unsighted by Ben Foakes standing up to Broad, while the England wicketkeeper also missed a tough under-edge catch on 71. But Ashwin did not look back, ploughing on from the loss of Kohli, lbw to Moeen, by marshalling the tail sagely en route to his fifth Test century and perhaps his most memorable.

Foakes had lit up proceedings first thing as Root’s men strike three times for just 11 runs, the wicketkeeper involved in all three dismissals to once again showcase the velvet gloves and draw praise online from the past greats that included Kiran More, Adam Gilchrist and Sarah Taylor.

Resuming on 54 for one, Chesteshwar Pujara was run out by some smart work from Ollie Pope - the No 3’s bat stuck in the turf trying to make his ground - before Jack Leach profited from two quicksilver stumpings by Foakes that removed Rohit Sharma for 26 and the promoted Rishabh Pant for eight.

With one already in the first innings, Foakes had become the first English wicketkeeper since Alan Knott in 1968 to effect three in a match and when Pope continued his fine work at short-leg to remove Ajinkya Rahane - a first wicket for Moeen during improved figures of four for 98 from 32 overs - India were suddenly 86 for five.

The lead was an imposing 281 runs by this stage, however, and though Axar Patel fell lbw to Moeen soon after, Kohli was already up and running. Swapping the cap worn on day one for a helmet, he watchfully took 20 balls to get off a pair before he and Ashwin set about bending the narrative firmly towards what has been three days of outright dominance by India. - Guardian

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