India spinner Axar Patel added his name to an elite roster on Tuesday after making his first five-field run in the ongoing game against England in Chennai.
Axar became the ninth Indian player to make a five-wicket round in the Test debut and only the second left-arm spinner after Dilip Doshi to make a five in his debut Test. Dilip Doshi was the first left point guard to hit a five in his same-place debut against Australia in Chennai in 1979.
Axar picked up the wickets of Dom Sibley, Jack Leach, Joe Root, Ollie Pope and Olly Stone to reach the milestone when India beat England by 317 runs.
India defeated England 164 in the final innings after setting them a goal of 482 runs to win at Chennai.
India vs England, 2nd test: how it happened
Spinners played an important role on Day 4, with Axar being the bowlers’ choice, while Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav took a pair.
Resuming at 53-3, and chasing a 482 record for an unlikely win, England lost four wickets in Tuesday morning’s session, while Joe Root leads the resistance at 33 not out.
Ben Foakes fell in love with two at the edge of lunch, giving Kuldeep Yadav his first match window.
The crafty Ravichandran Ashwin, who followed a five-wicket course with a century into India’s second inning, struck with his first delivery of the morning, sacking Dan Lawrence for 26.
Watching the batter charge down the court, Ashwin spun the ball through his legs and Rishabh Pant caught it by the side of his leg and lunged to his right to complete the move.
Ben Stokes joined Root in denying India for nearly 13 overs before Ashwin (3-42) struck again, the batter’s push on a longer pitch resulted in an inside lead that hit his pad on the way to Virat. Kohli on the slip.
Stokes faced 51 balls in his eight runs.
Ollie Pope didn’t last long either, doing 12 before dragging Axar Patel to Ishant Sharma in the middle of the wicket.
Root took a breather when Mohammed Siraj dropped an easy catch after the batter, then at 32, had reversed Kuldeep.
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