India wrapped up proceedings on Day Four at Mohali, easing to a 8-wicket win to register a 2-0 lead in the five-match Test series against England. The visitors put up a valiant effort to delay the inevitable, but Parthiv Patel’s hard-hitting fifty (67 not out) dismissed any hopes of a comeback.
England lost Gareth Batty early in the day but their batting talisman Joe Root (78) fought hard to wear the rampant Indian bowlers down. Haseeb Hameed (59 not out) came back to bat despite suffering a finger injury and rallied with Chris Woakes and the tail-enders to give the England bowlers a target to bowl at, as they folded at 236.
On a good batting surface, a modest target of 103 hardly made the Indian batsmen sweat, but England got an early breakthrough when Woakes dismissed opener Murali Vijay for a duck. Patel was severe against the spinners and ensured that there were no more hiccups during India’s chase, capping off his comeback game with a half-century.
The two teams will head to Mumbai to play the fourth Test, which begins on December 8.
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