5th Test: Ashwin & Kuldeep reduce England to 103/5 at lunch, trail India by 156 runs

Dharamshala, March 9 (IANS) Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav took five wickets collectively to reduce England to 103/5 in 22.5 overs at lunch on day three of fifth and final Test at the HPCA Stadium on Saturday. As of now, England trail India by 156 runs and one would surely believe the match will be over soon.

In the morning, off-spinner Shoaib Bashir took his second five-wicket haul in Tests while veteran pacer James Anderson becomes the first fast-bowler to pick 700 wickets in the format as England bowled out India for 477 in their first innings.

Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah added four more runs to the overnight total before Anderson picked his 700th Test wicket in the form of the former. Anderson lured Kuldeep into poking outside the off-stump and got a healthy nick behind to keeper Ben Foakes, ending the 49-run stand for the ninth wicket.

It made Anderson only the third bowler to pick 700 or more Test wickets after Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800 wickets) and Australia’s Shane Warne (708 wickets). Bashir then got his five-wicket haul when he drew Bumrah forward on the front foot and had him stumped from behind to end India’s innings quicky.

Bashir also became the first England bowler to claim a five-wicket haul twice in Tests before the age of 21. Though India captain Rohit Sharma could not take the field due to a stiff back, as per the BCCI, with Jasprit Bumrah taking charge of the proceedings, taking a lead of 259 runs meant the hosts’ had done enough to put almighty pressure on England.

That came true when Duckett tried to take the attacking route against Ashwin, but totally played down the wrong line after dancing down the pitch and see his off-stump being rattled. Crawley was next to fall for a 16-ball duck, with short leg catching his flick off Ashwin.

An unsettled Ollie Pope top-edged to running square leg, giving Ashwin his third wicket of the innings. Jonny Bairstow was aggressive in his strokeplay to make 39 off 31 balls, laced with three fours and as many sixes. But he was trapped lbw after unable to account for sharp turn from Kuldeep, with replays showing the ball clipping top of leg-stump.

Ashwin came back for another over and that move paid off when his slider castled Ben Stokes through the gate at the stroke of lunch. Joe Root has held up one end with his 34 not out off 52 balls, but with not much batting to follow, fancy India to finish off the game in next session.

Brief Scores: England 218 and 103/5 in 22.5 overs (Jonny Bairstow 39; Ravichandran Ashwin 4-55) trail India 477 in 124.1 overs (Shubman Gill 110, Rohit Sharma 103; Shoaib Bashir 5-173, James Anderson 2-60) by 156 runs