India’s spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Jayant Yadav claimed three wickets apiece in the second innings to lead the hosts to a comfortable 246-run win in the second Test against England on Monday and a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
England, chasing an improbable victory target of 405, were all out for 158 shortly after lunch on the fifth and final day in the first Test match being played in the port city of Visakhapatnam.
The touring side lost all 10 of their second-innings wickets for 83 runs after openers Alastair Cook and Haseeb Hameed combined in a stand of 75 runs on Sunday.
After resuming on 87-2, England lost five wickets in the first session on Monday and then the last three to Ashwin and Yadav after the break.
Batting fourth was always going to be a difficult task for England in their bid to avoid a loss in Visakhapatnam, with the wicket offering vicious turn and uneven bounce.
The visitors were soon in trouble as Ben Duckett’s poor series continued when he fell without scoring to Ashwin, caught behind when he miscued a sweep shot against the world’s top-ranked bowler.
Moeen Ali did not last long either, out to left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja for two after failing to show any of his usual fluidity in a 31-ball knock.
Joe Root, playing his 50th Test match, was key to any hopes England had of avoiding defeat after they had lost captain Cook to the last delivery of the fourth day.
England’s best batsman got an early reprieve on nine when India skipper Virat Kohli failed to hold a catch at leg slip off Ashwin. The right-hander was then given out, caught behind on 11 against Ashwin, but managed to overturn the decision on review with replays showing he had missed the ball.
After Moeen’s dismissal, Root and Ben Stokes kept India at bay for more than 11 overs before debutant spinner Yadav clean bowled the latter with a delivery that spun and beat the left-hander’s edge.
Pacer Mohammed Shami then got the prized wicket of Root when he got a new ball to reverse swing and stuck the batsman’s pad when he had reached 25, this time failing to get the decision overturned on review.
Adil Rashid was the last wicket to fall before lunch, caught behind for four as Shami claimed his second victim of the innings.
Ashwin, who took his 22nd five-wicket haul in the first innings, cleaned up Zafar Ansari for a duck after lunch and Yadav dismissed Stuart Broad and James Anderson leg-before in successive balls to end the innings.
