India has defeated England in the third Test of the ongoing four-match series by 10 wickets and now lead the series 2-1. With this, England is out of the reckoning for the Test Championship final. The match, which was played at the newly inaugurated and re-christened Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad was wrapped up in less than two days as all batsmen struggled to play on the turning track.
It was a match that belonged to the spinners. For India, Axar Patel picked up eleven wickets while Ravichandran Ashwin became the second-fastest to reach 400 test wickets in England's second innings. For England, Jack Leach picked up four wickets while captain Joe Root took a career-best of 5-8 in India's first innings.
It was only yesterday, February 24, that Joe Root won the toss for England and elected to bat. England was shot out for a paltry 112. India didn't fare much better and was all out today for 145. England did worse in their second innings being bowled out for 81 leaving India a target of merely 49 runs in the final innings.
India did not lose a wicket in the final chase with Rohit Sharma staying unbeaten on 25 while Shubhman Gill was not out on 15.
England is now out of the race to reach the Test Championship final. It is noteworthy that New Zealand has already qualified for the final. If England beat India in the next text, Australia will qualify. A draw or an Indian win will propel India into the finals.
(Edited by : Abhishek Jha)
First Published: Feb 25, 2021 7:53 PM IST
