After dominating the proceedings on Day 1 of the third Test, India scripted a historic victory by decimating England on only the second day of the Test match by 10 wickets. This emphatic turnaround has out India 2-1 up in the four-match series with a game to play.

Right from the start of Day 2, there were plenty of twists and turns. After finishing Day 1 on a high with 99 for the loss of three wickets, India was bundled out in the first session for a mere 145 with a minuscule lead of 33 runs to England’s first innings score. However, it was the duo of Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin who dented visitors hope to win the game by packing them for 81 in the second innings as both shared 9 wickets between them.

Chasing 49, it was a walk-in-the-park kind of stuff for Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma as they completed a 10-wicket victory with ease. With this win, India has now reclaimed the top spot in ICC World Test Championship and keeps their hopes alive of featuring in the finals against New Zealand. Meanwhile, with this loss, England’s hopes of qualifying for the World Test Championship are all but over.

Despite the match getting settled within 2 days, we witnessed quite a few records going into the history books. Here’s a look at the records that were created and shattered in the Pink Ball Test.

 

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Joe Root’s maiden Test Fifer

England’s only moment to savor in this Test match was Joe Root’s fifer. The England skipper claimed his first-ever Test fifer and surprised one and all. England’s missed the trick in reading the pitch and opted for three seamers and a lone spinner. This combination backfired them, and they had nowhere to hide.

When Root saw his only spinner Jack Leach getting some purchase from the wicket, he brought himself on in the morning session of Day 2 and, end up as the highest wicket-taker for his side. He stuck with his very first ball of the match as he removed Rishabh Pant for 1. After breaking the shackles, he went onto claim the wickets of Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, and JaspritBumrah. Root ended with stunning figures of 5 for 8 in 6.2 overs.

Ashwin becomes the second fastest to claim 400 Test scalps

In Virat Kohli’s book, Ravichandran Ashwin is a modern-day ‘Legend.’ The skipper was all praise for his premier spinner after the end of the Test as he scalped seven wickets in the game. Before the match, Ashwin needed only six wickets to claim 400 Test scalps, and he did it in style by taking 3 in the first and 4 in the second innings.

The office now becomes only the third Indian bowler to scalp 400+ after Kapil Dev (434), Anil Kumble (619), and Harbhajan Singh (417), and only the 16th spinner overall to achieve this feat. In the process, he also became the second-fastest to scalp 400 Test wickets in his 77th match with Sri Lanka’s great Muttiah Muralitharan heading the chart as he achieved this feat in his 72nd Test.

Axar Patel becomes the first bowler to get a five-wicket haul in both innings of a day-night Test

Man of the Match and local-boy Axar Patel scripted history in just his second Test. The left-arm spinner has become the only bowler to take a five-wicket haul in both innings of a Pink Ball Test after scalping 6 in the first and 5 wickets in the second innings. He was one of the architects in India’s emphatic win and will be cherishing this record for the years to come.

Axar rattled the England batsmen in both innings to set the tone for India’s victory. In the first over of the second innings, he scalped two wickets in just three balls to dent the momentum and confidence of English batsmen.

Shortest Test in post World War era (in terms of balls)

It took only five sessions (less than two days) for India to wrap up the Test match. Skipper Virat Kohli admitted in the post-match presentation that the quality of batting from both teams was ordinary, and they should trust their defense as the match was ended in just over five sessions. This Test has now become the shortest match in terms of balls bowled that ended with a result.

• 842 balls – India v England (Ahmedabad 2020/21)
• 872 balls – Australia v New Zealand (Wellington 1945/46)
• 883 balls – England v South Africa (Centurion 1999/00) – two innings forfeited in the match.
• 893 balls – Australia v Pakistan (Sharjah 2002/03)

Time to wrap up: After an emphatic win in the day-night Test, India goes 2-1 up in the four-match series with a game to play. To qualify in the World Test Championship final, India only needs to play a draw or register a win. However, a loss in the final Test will see Australia qualifying for the finals and facing New Zealand at the Lords in June 2021.