India completed a stunning victory over England in the third Test at Rajkot, winning by 10 wickets inside two days. The hosts bowled out England for 112 and 81, and chased down the target of 49 in just 7.4 overs. Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin were the stars of the show, taking 11 and 7 wickets respectively in the match. Rohit Sharma was the only batsman to score a half-century in the low-scoring affair, making 66 in the first innings.
The match was dominated by the spinners from both sides, as the pitch offered sharp turn and bounce from the first session. England won the toss and opted to bat first, but were soon in trouble as Axar struck with the first ball of the match, trapping Zak Crawley lbw. Jonny Bairstow followed soon after, falling to the same bowler in the same manner. Joe Root and Crawley tried to rebuild the innings, but Ashwin broke their partnership by dismissing Root for 17. Crawley was the only bright spot for England, scoring a fluent 53 before falling to Axar. The rest of the batting collapsed, as England were bundled out for 112 in 48.4 overs. Axar finished with 6 for 38, while Ashwin took 3 for 26.
India did not fare much better in their first innings, as they lost three wickets for 34 runs. Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara fell to Jack Leach, while Virat Kohli was trapped lbw by the same bowler. Rohit and Ravindra Jadeja then steadied the ship, adding 204 runs for the fourth wicket. Rohit played a classy knock, hitting 11 fours and a six, while Jadeja scored his 10th Test fifty. Sarfaraz Khan, who made his debut in this match, impressed with a quickfire 62 off 66 balls, but was run out while trying to get Jadeja to his hundred. Jadeja reached his century, but India lost their last six wickets for 31 runs, and were bowled out for 145 in 53.2 overs. Leach was the pick of the bowlers for England, taking 4 for 54, while Root claimed a five-wicket haul with his part-time off-spin. England faced a deficit of 33 runs, but their second innings was even worse than their first. Axar and Ashwin ran through their batting line-up, as none of the batsmen could cope with the spin and bounce. Ben Stokes was the top-scorer with 25, but he too fell to Ashwin. England were all out for 81 in 30.4 overs, their lowest total against India in Tests. Axar took 5 for 32, while Ashwin took 4 for 48, becoming the second-fastest bowler to reach 400 Test wickets.
India needed 49 runs to win, and they achieved it in a hurry. Rohit and Gill smashed the England bowlers, hitting six fours and two sixes between them. Rohit remained unbeaten on 25, while Gill was not out on 15. India won by 10 wickets in 7.4 overs, their fastest Test victory in terms of balls faced. Axar was named the Player of the Match for his 11-wicket haul, while Rohit was the Player of the Series for scoring 296 runs at an average of 59.20.
India have taken a 2-1 lead in the four-match series, and have also moved to the top of the World Test Championship standings. The fourth and final Test will be played at Ranchi from February 23. England will have to regroup and find a way to counter the Indian spinners, while India will look to seal the series and book their place in the WTC final.
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