India beat England by 106 runs on Day Four at Visakhapatnam to level the five-match series at 1-1 going into the third Test.
England were bowled out for 292 in the fourth innings and were chasing 399. After losing Ben Duckett towards the end of the third day, Rehan Ahmed scored 23 points as the number 3 night watchman before being beaten LBW by Axar Patel. After Ollie Pope fell easily, Joe Root played a frenetic innings, hitting four off his first ball and sinking a six before attempting another big hit against Axar.
Wickets were falling regularly at the other end, but Zak Crawley took control at the other end, reaching 73 by the end of the morning session. However, India were defeated in the penultimate over before lunch after they successfully fended off a shout from Pound who appeared to slip down the leg side. Jonny Bairstow was out in the next over with Jasprit Bumrah, taking the five wickets that fell in the first session.
Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes were England’s last batsmen and their hopes of scoring the remaining 204 points rested on them after lunch. Both players played cautiously and the partnership grew to 26 off 60 balls before it broke down. After falling behind from the non-striker side, Stokes was sent off for a direct throw from Shreyas Iyer. His wicket effectively ended England’s chances of victory, but Tom Hartley and Ben Foakes combined for 55.
Hartley hit his ninth hit of the match, bowled by Jasprit Bumrah for the last wicket. England’s 292 runs are the second highest in four innings by an Indian touring team and the highest by a losing team. The third Test begins in Rajkot on February 15 for him.
Highlights: India level the series in Vizag
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