India bowled England on the final day in Visakhapatnam, to take a 1-0 lead in the Test Series and assert their dominance as the best Test side in the world.
On a busy surface that assisted the spinners, England struggled for consistency and staying power as the tourists lost eight wickets for 66 runs, with Jayant Yadav taking 3-30 and Ravichandran Ashwin taking 3-52.
Where it went wrong for England
India arguably won this game in the first innings, a whopping score of 405 put immediate pressure on England’s top order, who soon found themselves 87-2 and in real trouble. Classy knocks from Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow helped the tourists get somewhere near back on track, but once the wicket of Jimmy Anderson fell England had only mustered a total of 255, all out.
England have been outplayed and ultimately lost it on the second evening when all those wickets fell, but I don’t sense this is a team about to disintegrate under the pressure of touring India.
Vic Marks, BBC Sport
India’s second innings proved a trickier affair for the hosts, only captain Virat Kohli got anywhere near the century mark as he top scored with 81. Sharp bowling from Stuart Broad (4-33) and Adil Rashid (4-82) looked to gave England a glimmer of hope, as the hosts set a target of 405 for the win. Punchy perhaps, but not unachievable. However, England batted slow and steady on the fourth day, leaving a draw the only realistic target for the tourists going into the final day.
The Final Twist
Once Alastair Cook and Haseeb Hameed were dismissed, England were 87-2 and seemingly in good shape to see out a draw. Despite England’s best intentions, the India spin attack started to get some traction on the deteriorating surface, and a few short wickets later that traction became the tourist Achilles heel as the wickets kept tumbling and the runs dried up.
England will regroup and travel north for the third Test in Mohali which begins on Saturday, but there will be concerns in the camp about Stuart Broad who has a strained tendon in his foot, which could see Chris Woakes return to the side.
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