“We have been outplayed by the better team of the series,” England skipper Ben Stokes said. “Looking at the series as a whole, in those small moments we haven’t been able to keep it going. As individuals, we know where it all went wrong.”
England was in deep trouble and staring at a heavy defeat after being 103-5 at lunch, trailing by 156 runs.
India finished the second day at 473-8, with Yadav (30) and Jasprit Bumrah (20) at the crease. India only added four runs to its overnight score — Anderson had Yadav caught behind in the fourth over of the morning to achieve his milestone.
Then off spinner Shoaib Bashir had Bumrah stumped to finish with 5-173. It was his second five-wicket haul in four tests, and he became the first England bowler to achieve the feat before turning 21.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma did not take the field in England’s second innings because of a stiff back. Vice-captain Bumrah took charge, sharing the new ball with Ravichandran Ashwin.
Ashwin took 5-77 and finished with match figures of 9-128 in his 100th test and had ushered in England’s slide in the second innings.
The off spinner became the fourth bowler to pick a five-wicket haul in his 100th test and the first to pick a fiver in both his first and 100th test.
Ashwin began in the second over, bowling Ben Duckett for two, as the opener danced down the track.
Ashwin then dismissed Zak Crawley for a 16-ball duck in the sixth over. Ollie Pope tried a sweep shot, but only ended up offering an easy catch to Yashasvi Jaiswal at short leg. Pope made 19 runs and England was down to 36-3.
Jonny Bairstow, appearing in his 100th test, and Joe Root added 56 runs for the fourth wicket. Bairstow was aggressive, hitting three fours and three sixes in his 31-ball, 39-run total.
But Yadav provided the breakthrough, trapping Bairstow lbw, as England lost a fourth wicket leading up to lunch. It got worse as Ashwin bowled Stokes for just two runs leaving the English second innings in tatters.
Post lunch, Ashwin completed his 36th five-wicket haul in tests as Ben Foakes attempted a slog sweep and was bowled for eight.
Bumrah picked up the next two wickets with immaculate yorkers.
He trapped Tom Hartley lbw for 20 with a slower ball, and then repeated it with a quicker yorker to send Mark Wood back for a two-ball duck.
Joe Root played the lone hand and top scored with 84 runs off 128 balls, including 12 fours. It wasn’t enough to save England’s blushes as Yadav finished proceedings with time to spare on the third day.
Ravindra Jadeja, too, picked up a wicket, bowling Bashir for 13.
Stokes indicated that there’s more to come from the 41-year-old Anderson.
“Seven hundred wickets for a pacer is quite phenomenal, from the day he first started to where he is now, the desire and commitment is still there and he is the fittest cricketer I have ever seen,” Stokes said.
India had rebounded from England’s 28-run victory back in January by winning the second test in Visakhapatnam by 106 runs, the third test in Rajkot by 434 runs and the fourth test in Ranchi.
“I am proud of the team. To go behind in the first test was disappointing but to bounce back was great,” India coach Rahul Dravid said.
“We have always found players to step up in various situations whenever we have been put under pressure,” he added. “We did miss a few key players but there is an incredible amount of talent in India. It is terrific to see our youngsters do well.”
India cements its top spot in the ICC world test championship rankings, with 68.51 percentage points from six wins in nine tests. England is eighth in the standings, with only three wins in 10 tests in this current 2023-25 cycle.
