5th Test: Kuldeep, Ashwin, Rohit, Gill steer India to massive win over England, claim series 4-1

Dharamshala, March 9 (IANS) Ravichandran Ashwin made his 100th Test match memorable with a five-wicket haul while Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah took two scalps each as India thrashed England by innings and 64 runs to emphatically win the fifth and final Test at the HPCA Stadium & win the five-match series 4-1.

On day three, India were bowled out for 477 in their first innings, taking a handy lead of 259 runs. Under pressure, England capitulated in stunning fashion as Ashwin took 5-77, his 36th five-wicket haul in the format, also the most fifers in this format for India.

He now joins spin legends Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble as the bowlers to bag a five-wicket haul in their 100th Test match. Kuldeep followed up his five-wicket haul in the first innings with 2-40, while Bumrah picked 2-38 and Ravindra Jadeja returned with 1-25 as England were bowled out for 195 in 48.1 overs, with India securing an impressive series win.

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

Kuldeep and 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 Muralitharan (800 wickets) and 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 quickly.

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 seeing 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 a 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 being 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. The post-lunch session saw Foakes and Root hanging around for 15 minutes, before Ravichandran Ashwin teased the former to go for a slog-sweep, which he did and castled him through the gate.

Tom Hartley resisted by hitting four boundaries, before being trapped plumb lbw by Jasprit Bumrah. Two balls later, Bumrah trapped Mark Wood lbw for a two-ball duck with a straighter delivery. Root marched forward to bring up his fifty in 88 balls with a flick through backward square leg for four.

He and Bashir hit nine boundaries between themselves, before the latter saw his off-stump being rattled by Jadeja. Kuldeep ended the match by having Root hole out to Bumrah at long-on to secure a 4-1 series win for India.

Brief Scores: England 218 and 195 in 48.1 overs (Joe Root 84; Ravichandran Ashwin 5-77) lost to India 477 in 124.1 overs (Shubman Gill 110, Rohit Sharma 103; Shoaib Bashir 5-173, James Anderson 2-60) by an innings and 64 runs