India completed a fantastic victory in the third of the four-match series as they beat England by 10 wickets to take an unassailable lead of 2-1 in the series. India finished the game in two days as the whole Test match lasted just 842 balls.
India had a poor start to the day losing 7 wickets for just 46 runs in the first session on Thursday. However, India reaped the benefits of the first day's heroics as bowling out England for just 112 runs in the first innings came to help them a lot on the second day as on a turning track, England bowlers made full use and bowled out India for just 145 runs.
Although it was just a 33-run lead, it proved to be a crucial one, where it seemed like batsmen were just not able to spend time in the middle. India came out all guns blazing in the second innings with the ball as the local boy Axar Patel was the wreaker-in-chief again. He took two wickets in the first three balls of the innings and everyone got an idea where the Test match was headed.
None of the England batsmen could offer any resistance, as the whole team was bundled out for just 81 runs inside a single session. Patel took five wickets and completed a 10-wicket haul for the match while becoming the first bowler in history to take ten wickets in a day-night Test.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin too didn't remain far away as he completed his 400 wickets in the format, by taking three wickets in the second innings.
India needed just 49 runs to win the Test match. Openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill didn't let England bowlers come into the game as they closed out a big victory for the hosts, winning the game with 10 wickets and taking a 2-1 lead in the three-match series.
By the virtue of this win, India moved a step closer to booking a place in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC), as they now require a draw/win in the final to meet New Zealand in June this year at the Lord's cricket ground.
