India complete series win with heavy innings victory

After the hosts were finally dismissed for 365, with Washington Sundar left stranded on 96, Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin shared 10 wickets to complete a win inside three days

Scorecard: India v England

India’s spinners put the finishing touches on a series victory after England were bowled out cheaply once again in Ahmedabad.

After the hosts were finally dismissed for 365, with Washington Sundar left stranded on 96, Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin shared 10 wickets. Only Dan Lawrence reached a half century for the tourists.

Zak Crawley, Dom Sibley and Jonny Bairstow all fell inside the opening 10 overs to leave England 20 for 3, with Joe Root the only other batsman to pass 15.

Earlier in the day, India’s tail had wagged sufficiently for Sundar to come within four runs of a maiden Test hundred, before Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj were dismissed by Ben Stokes.

Stokes bowled 27.4 overs despite a stomach upset and the sweltering heat, a sign that England had once again erred in their team selection, with Stuart Broad and Mark Wood both available for selection but left out.

The assistance for seam bowling was clear on the first morning when Siraj trapped Bairstow and Root lbw, before India’s spinners shared the remaining eight wickets. England’s final total of 205 – after winning a valuable toss – was below-par and left them fighting an uphill battle thereafter.

For a while on the second day, it seemed as though the persistence of England’s bowling attack – led by the excellence of James Anderson – might offer the visitors an unlikely route back into the game, with a series draw still salvageable.

However, after India were reduced to 146 for 6 courtesy of some fine bowling, Rishabh Pant turned the match with a series-clinching hundred.

And when Lawrence was the last man out, bowled by Ashwin to ensure that both India spinners collected five-wicket hauls, the game and the series were over.

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