Southampton Test Day 5 Highlights: Moeen Ali's Six Wickets Help England Crush India by 266 Runs, Level Series 1-1
James Anderson struck twice and Moeen Ali thrice this morning to rock India's prospects of running away with a draw in the third Test against England in Southampton. Catch all the highlights here.
England defeat India by 266 runs to level the five-match series 1-1. Here are the highlights from the final day of the Southampton Test. (Scorecard)
17:50 IST: What went wrong for India in 3rd Test? Former India captain Sourav Ganguly feels India failed to play Moeen Ali well. "If a spinner takes six wickets in overseas condittions, it is disappointing. We need to play spin properly after this," he said after the match.
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Ganguly however is not too concerned about the overall batting failure and said India can battle back to a win in the next Test. "I am not too concerned about Virat Kohli's form but worried about Shikhar Dhawan. (But) This England team is vulnerable. India can beat them at Manchester," he felt.
17:40 IST: He was bashed by most after the defeat at Lord's but England skipper Alastair Cook has a wide smile on his face today. "Very happy with the performance here. We won every single session and every player stood up in this Test," he says.
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17:35 IST: Dhoni looks disappointed with the result but says it is crucial for his side to remain positive ahead of the 4th Test in Manchester - starting August 7. "We had a few soft dismissals yesterday. Had we batted better, we could have been in a better position today," he says. "We allowed Moeen Ali to bowl really well and will now have to be positive before the fourth Test. Will also have to look at the option of four bowlers although Ishant will be unavailable.
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17: 30 IST: England played comprehensive cricket. James Anderson is man of the match. He took seven wickets in the match and was largely responsible for India's downfall. "All credit to the players for this performance," he says at the post match ceremony.
17: 25 IST:Match Over! England win in just a single session on the final day. Hosts take the match by 266 runs and level series 1-1 against India.
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17:16 IST: FOUR! Rahane slams his fourth half-century, second of the match as India reach 170/9.
17:04 IST: WICKET! Moeen Ali has taken his maiden fifer. What a moment this is for him. India are 154/9 as Mohammed Shami walks back.
17:00 IST: This is a lost cause for India, but Ajinkya Rahane has shown the rest of his teammates that they could have stayed put at the crease with some better application.
16:57 IST: In India, back in 2012, Panesar and Swann showed Indian spinners how to bowl on Indian pitches. Now a part-time English spinner has exhibited what exactly to do to get wickets on English surfaces. India 153/8, with Rahane and Shami in the middle.
16:53 IST: WICKET! Moeen Ali has picked up his fourth wicket; he removes Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a duck as India slip to 152/8, sliding towards defeat in Southampton.
16:49 IST: WICKET! Moeen Ali has struck again, for the third time in this innings. Jadeja plays on and his timber is rattled. India are 152/7.
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16:46 IST: Good, probing over from Chris Woakes; it's a maiden and he had Rahane in trouble once with a ball that nipped back in. India are 152/6.
16:40 IST: Rahane and Jadeja have been together for almost 12 overs and added 32 for the seventh wicket as India bring up 150. England still have plenty of time to wrap this up. India are 152/6.
16:31 IST: FOUR! Rahane plays a beautiful shot to drive Ali just wide of mid-off. That's the way India should have played him all along. They are 147/6.
17:30 IST: So far so good from Jadeja; he has looked calm but he needs to continue in the same momentum. India have a long day ahead and they can count on Rahane to hold on.
17:22 IST: India are hurtling towards defeat, having lost two wickets in the first session. Unless Rahane comes up with a sensational resistance with the lower order or the weather helps India, England are winning this one with a huge margin. India are 136/6.
17:16 IST: Rahane has looked as solid as always, but how long can he stall England with Jadeja for company? Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been mighty impressive with the bat this series, but will he stand strong today?
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16:07 IST: Moeen Ali in the attack; he has taken four wickets in the Test so far. What a threat he has been to India so far.
15:54 IST: WICKET! Another one for Anderson and it's the biggest of the morning. He has removed MS Dhoni and India are now looking at certain defeat at the Rose Bowl.
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15:50 IST: Ganguly says on air India need to keep scoring runs. MS Dhoni and Ajinkya Rahane can't get into a shell.
15.35 (IST): OUT! Early wicket for England! Rohit Sharma edges a delivery from James Anderson and Jos Buttler takes the regulation catch with ease. India have lost half their side. England are just five wickets away from a famous win. MS Dhoni walks out to bat. (India 112/5)
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England need six wickets on the final day to win against India after a superb bowling performance helped them reduce the tourists to 112 for 4, still 333 runs short of victory, at the end of Day 4 on Wednesday.
India lost Murali Vijay (12) and Cheteshwar Pujara (2) in the space of eight balls in the final session and part-timer Joe Root then claimed the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan (37), which broke a watchful stand of 51 with Kohli. Spinner Moeen Ali got Kohli (28) to edge a straight one to Jos Buttler before Lord's centurion Ajinkya Rahane (18 not out) and Rohit Sharma (six not out) battled to the close with India on the brink of defeat.
Earlier on Wednesday, England captain Alastair Cook (70 not out) managed successive half-centuries in a Test match for the first time since 2011 and he was backed up by Root's 56 off 41 balls as England declared their second innings at 205 for 4. (Day 4 Highlights) It left India facing what would be a world-record chase of 445 to win the game. But England, trailing 1-0 in the five-match series, are favourites to earn their first victory in 11 outings on the final day on Thursday.
"We're in a really good position and if we can get the six wickets tomorrow we'll be right back in the series. We're hungry for a win as it has been so long," said Root.
The day finished with a verbal exchange between James Anderson and Rahane at the close of play, with umpire Rod Tucker stepping in. Anderson, who faces a disciplinary hearing on Friday following his altercation with Ravindra Jadeja at the first Test at Trent Bridge, took the first two wickets of the morning to claim a five-for on his 32nd birthday.
Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan, who scored 37 before getting out to Root, said: "It's not easy to bat out there and you can't predict what is going to happen. When you get out on a good ball you can't do much about it. It's going to be hard to save the match but we'll be looking to build a good partnership tomorrow."
That aptly sums up India's tough ask going into Day 5.