Twitter Reactions: Axar Patel and Ravi Ashwin help India crush England inside two days

India, on Thursday, thrashed England by ten wickets in the third Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad to take a 2-1 lead in the four-match series. The low-scoring match ended inside two days as batsmen from both sides found it tough to survive on the pitch which was assisting spinners right from the first day.

Chasing a modest 49-run target, India crossed the finishing line in the eighth over when Rohit Sharma hit Joe Root for two fours and a six. Rohit and Gill shared an unbeaten stand of 49 runs to take the team home without any trouble. Rohit, who had scored a fifty in the first innings, remained unbeaten on 25 while Gill scored 15.

The credit for such a small target goes to Axar Patel who picked up his second five-wicket haul in the game and third in a row to help India bowl out the visitors for just 81. The match was finely poised when England started their second innings after bowling out India for just 145. However, their advantage did not last long.

Axar Patel struck on the very first ball to remove Zak Crawley before castling Jonny Bairstow on the third ball to reduce England to 0 for 2. The visitors could not recover from the early setbacks and were folded up for 81. Ben Stokes’ 25 was the highest score from an England player while Joe Root (17) and Ollie Pope (12) were the only other players to reach the double-digit mark. Axar, who had picked up 6 for 38 in the first innings, took 5 for 32 while Ravichandran Ashwin picked up 4 for 48.

Joe Root dismantles India

Earlier in the day, Joe Root stunned India and ran through their batting lineup as England bowled out the hosts for a modest 145. After bowling out England for just 112, India started the day on 99 for 3. The home side were looking set for a big lead before Root and spinner Jack Leach joined hands to blow India away.

Root inspired the brilliant comeback from the tourists after an early double strike for Jack Leach, who finished with figures of 4-54. The England skipper went on to pick his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket as he grabbed a career-best 5-8. Leach gave England their first breakthrough of the morning by dismissing Ajinkya Rahane (seven) before removing Rohit Sharma for 66 to reduce India to 115 for 5 from 114 for 3.

The next to depart was Rishabh Pant as he became Root’s first victim. And even before India could recover from the setbacks, Root struck again to remove Washington Sundar and Axar Patel even before they could open their account. Ravichandran Ashwin fought for a while before holing out to deep square-leg. Root then wrapped the innings when Jasprit Bumrah was trapped in front.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the match: