Spinner Ravindra Jadeja's five-wicket haul, along with impressive performances from skipper Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, double centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal, and debutant Sarfaraz Khan, led to England's 'Bazball' brand of cricket succumbing to Team India in their home conditions. The third Test in Rajkot saw India secure a commanding 434-run victory, putting them 2-1 up in the five-match series.
England began the last session at 18/2, with Ollie Pope not out at the crease. The openers, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, didn't make significant scores. Joe Root joined Pope at the other end.
Nevertheless, spinner Ravindra Jadeja did not allow the pair any respite, swiftly dismissing Ollie, caught by skipper Rohit at slips for a mere three runs. He then ensnared Jonny Bairstow for just four runs, extending his impressive performance. Consequently, England's score plummeted to 28/4.
Root was accompanied by England's captain and key player Ben Stokes. Together, they helped England reach the 50-run milestone in 21 overs.
Nevertheless, Jadeja delivered another blow to the visiting team by dismissing Root for a mere seven runs with a leg-before-wicket decision. England found themselves in a tough spot, losing half of their team with only 50 runs on the board.
Kuldeep also became part of the spin dominance, initially dismissing skipper Stokes leg-before-wicket for only 15 and then claiming the catch of Rehan Ahmed at the boundary for zero. England's position became highly concerning at 50/7.
Tom Hartley and Ben Foakes tried to salvage a nearly lost situation once again. Jadeja claimed his fourth wicket by dismissing Foakes for 16. England's score dwindled to 82/8 after a great catch by wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel.
Ravichandran Ashwin claimed the wicket of Hartley for 16, knocking down his stumps and bringing England to 91/9.
India wrapped up England's innings for a mere 122 runs, with Jadeja claiming his fifth wicket and Jaiswal making the catch to dismiss Mark Wood for 33. As a result, India secured a commanding victory by 434 runs.
Jadeja stood out as the top performer among the bowlers, taking 5 wickets for 41 runs. Kuldeep claimed 2 wickets for 19 runs, while Ashwin and Bumrah each secured a wicket.
Previously, India achieved a 556-run advantage in the second innings, declaring at 430/4. After captain Rohit's quick dismissal for 19 runs, young batsmen Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill stabilized India's position with a 155-run partnership for the second wicket. Jaiswal retired hurt after scoring 104, and India finished day three at 196/2, with Gill on 65* and Kuldeep Yadav on 3*.
On the fourth day, Gill and Kuldeep maintained their partnership, but Gill fell short of his fourth Test century due to a run-out, scoring 91 from 151 deliveries with nine fours and two sixes. Kuldeep also contributed with 27 runs from 91 balls, taking India to 258/4. Following this, Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan resumed the innings for India and dominated the English spinners.
Jaiswal achieved his second double-century in Test matches, following his first in the previous Test. A standout moment was when he hit veteran pace bowler James Anderson for three consecutive sixes. Additionally, Sarfaraz also notched up his second half-century in a row during his Test debut. India concluded their innings at 430/4, with Jaiswal scoring an unbeaten 214* from 236 deliveries, including 14 fours and 12 sixes, and Sarfaraz contributing an unbeaten 68* from 72 balls, featuring six fours and three sixes, as they formed an unbroken 172-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Joe Root, Tom Hartley, and Rehan Ahmed each secured a wicket for England.
In their initial innings, England scored 319 runs in response to India's 445 runs. Ben Duckett achieved the fastest century by an English player in India, scoring 153 runs off 151 balls with 23 fours and two sixes. However, the rest of the team did not provide much support. Captain Stokes contributed 41 runs off 89 balls with six fours, while Pope scored 39 runs off 55 balls with five fours and a six.
Siraj stood out as the best bowler for India, taking 4 wickets for 84 runs, while Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja claimed two wickets each. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin also secured a wicket each, with Ashwin reaching his milestone of 500 Test wickets.
In the first innings, India chose to bat and scored 445 runs. Initially, the hosts struggled at 33/3 due to England's strong bowling, but captain Rohit and Jadeja turned the game around with a 204-run partnership. Rohit scored 131 runs with 14 fours and three sixes, while Jadeja achieved his third Test century and shared a 77-run partnership with debutant Sarfaraz, who scored 62 runs. Contributions from debutant Dhruv Jurel (46 runs) and Ashwin (37 runs) helped India reach a strong total.
Mark Wood proved his worth in the team by taking 4 wickets for 114 runs. Rehan took two wickets, while Root, Hartley, and Anderson each took one wicket.
