And that is close of play on Day 3. England 53/3. 31.5 overs, 118 runs, 5 wickets in the final session of the day. Still possible to bat but Root and Co have their backs to the wall and will need a very special effort to even survive Day 4.

Eng 52/3 after 18.1 overs (Lawrence 18, Root 1)
Root survives a review but one honestly doesn’t know how. Seems like Nitin Menon thought the impact was outside the line of off-stump but it didn’t look anything like that. Kohli was furious. Crazy. Once again showcases the problems with the system and how it is worked with.

Eng 52/3 after 18 overs (Lawrence 18)
Root in the middle now. No more nightwatchmen for England. Just a few more minutes to close of play.

Eng 50/3 after 17 overs (Lawrence 18)
WICKET! Axar strikes again. Just keeps hitting the mark and at some point, the ball will be unplayable. England didn’t do this often enough. The consistency is the difference.

England have sent out Leach as a nightwatchman.

Eng 49/2 after 16 overs (Lawrence 17)
WICKET! Burns played across the line, got a nice healthy edge. Ashwin gets the wicket. Lovely bowling. The batsman turned his bat a bit too soon. Rory Burns c Kohli b Ashwin 25(42)

Eng 46/1 after 14 overs (Rory Burns 24, Lawrence 15)
SIX! Lawrence uses his feet to Ashwin and hits him for a six straight down the ground. Wonderful shot.

Eng 40/1 after 13 overs (Rory Burns 24, Lawrence 9)
Much more proactive approach adopted by the England team today. They are looking to score runs. They are looking to play cricket.

Eng 33/1 after 11 overs (Rory Burns 22, Lawrence 8)
Lawrence coming down the wicket to hit Axar for four. Pant’s reaction: “Bhagwan ka naam lekar kuud raha hai yeh.”

Eng 25/1 after 10 overs (Rory Burns 22, Lawrence 0)
Burns looking to stay positive and not just get bogged down. The runs are coming for him. No point just standing there.

Eng 17/1 after 8.2 overs (Rory Burns 14)
WICKET! Beaten for pace and by the angle. Sibley was right back too. They don’t even review it. Axar gets the first wicket. Sibley lbw b Axar 3(25)

Eng 17/0 after 8 overs (Rory Burns 14, Dominic Sibley 3)
Another maiden over. Same template as the first innings. Give nothing away.

Eng 17/0 after 7 overs (Rory Burns 14, Dominic Sibley 3)
Another maiden over for Axar. He does this so well. Will keep building the pressure. And slowly but surely, the batsmen crack.

Eng 17/0 after 6 overs (Rory Burns 14, Dominic Sibley 3)
England need 465 runs to win. Let that sink in. India know they need to be patient and the wickets will come.

Eng 9/0 after 5 overs (Rory Burns 7, Dominic Sibley 2)
Axar switches ends. Spin is the order of the day.

Eng 8/0 after 4 overs (Rory Burns 6, Dominic Sibley 2)
Ashwin was off the field for a bit, so Axar bowled the first over from this end. But he is back and he wants the ball. He gets it. Two runs from the over.

Eng 6/0 after 3 overs (Rory Burns 6, Dominic Sibley 0)
Another maiden over. England need to get through the new ball. In each innings, the new ball has done the damage. After that around the 35th over, it becomes a little easier.

Eng 6/0 after 2 overs (Rory Burns 6, Dominic Sibley 0)
Axar Patel into the attack from the other end and he starts off with a maiden over.

Eng 6/0 after 1 over (Rory Burns 6, Dominic Sibley 0)
Rory Burns has survived the first over. Ishant charging in from one end. He knows he won’t get too many overs.

England’s openers are out to bat. What a task ahead of them... if they want inspiration, they only need to look in Ashwin’s direction.

Ind 286 all out after 85 overs (Mohammed Siraj 16)
WICKET! England need 482 to win. Ashwin’s incredible knock comes to an end. 96-run stand with Kohli when India were in trouble and finally getting to his fifth Test hundred. It was an Ashwin show all the way. Ashwin b Olly Stone 106(148)

Ind 284/9 after 85 overs (R Ashwin 104, Mohammed Siraj 16)
After Ashwin got his century, Siraj has been going for the big shots and he showed his batting chops with a huge six off Leach. India lead by 479 runs.

Ind 260/9 after 82 overs (R Ashwin 103, Mohammed Siraj 0)
SIX! Ashwin smokes one over cow corner and then another top edge over the slips gets him to his century. It has been a brilliant knock and he has had his chances but he has made them count. Stunning knock for India. The crowd is going absolutely nuts.

Ind 251/9 after 81 overs (R Ashwin 91, Mohammed Siraj 0)
Ashwin moves into his nineties with a four. He has batted on a different pitch right from the start.

England have taken the second new ball immediately.

Ind 247/9 after 80 overs (R Ashwin 87, Mohammed Siraj 0)
The Chepauk crowd is really into this! More defensive shots from Siraj and the cheers are getting louder. It’s all about Ashwin and his possible ton at the moment.

Ind 246/9 after 79 overs (R Ashwin 86, Mohammed Siraj 0)
Nicely done by Siraj! He plays out a maiden over by Leach. And the Chennai crowd is elated, they want to see their local hero get a century.

Ind 246/9 after 78 overs (R Ashwin 86, Mohammed Siraj 0)
Ashwin just about survives! He hits a sweep in the air and it lands inches away from Broad in the deep and goes for four. Ashwin wants that hundred!

Ind 237/9 after 76.4 overs (R Ashwin 76)
WICKET! Ishant gets the top edge and Leach gets another wicket. One wicket left for the visitors to get. Ishant c Olly Stone b Jack Leach 7(24)

Ind 236/8 after 76 overs (R Ashwin 76, Ishant Sharma 7)
Ishant gets a four and Kohli in the dressing room is up on his feet to applaud.

Ind 230/8 after 75 overs (R Ashwin 76, Ishant Sharma 1)
Ashwin continuing to play shots of Broad and he makes it look easy. He has had luck but he sure has made the most of it.

Ind 224/8 after 74 overs (R Ashwin 71, Ishant Sharma 0)
STUMPING MISSED! Foakes misses another opportunity. He has been brilliant but that is another life for Ashwin, who charged out of the wicket but missed the ball completely. It stayed a little low. That would have been Moeen’s fifth wicket.

Time for the final session on Day 3 to begin.

Ind 221/8 after 73 overs (R Ashwin 68, Ishant Sharma 0)
And that is tea. India lead by 416 runs. They have played out another session. In the session: 25 overs, 65 runs, 2 wickets. RR 2.60.

Ind 220/8 after 71 overs (R Ashwin 67, Ishant Sharma 0)
Ashwin continues to bat so well. Broad pitched one up and Ashwin showed him a straight bat and hit it down the ground. Lovely shot. He does have a natural elegance to his batting.

Ind 214/8 after 69 overs (R Ashwin 61, Ishant Sharma 0)
India are 409 runs ahead but they will bat on. With Kohli back in the dressing room though, the innings may not last very long.

Ind 210/8 after 68 overs (R Ashwin 61)
WICKET! Moeen gets his 4th wicket of the innings. Kuldeep has been trapped LBW. India lead by 405 runs. Kuldeep Yadav lbw b Moeen Ali 3(9)

Ind 208/7 after 67 overs (R Ashwin 61, Kuldeep 1)
DROPPED! Ashwin has got another life. Foakes has been standing up to the wickets and he couldn’t hold on to a catch. Not easy but it just popped out.

Ind 202/7 after 65.4 overs (R Ashwin 56)
WICKET! Moeen strikes to trap Kohli LBW. India took the review but it came down to umpire’s call. England will breathe a sigh of relief. A wonderful innings comes to an end. Kohli lbw b Moeen Ali 62(149)

Ind 201/6 after 65 overs (Virat Kohli 62, R Ashwin 55)
Maiden over by Broad. Another spinner would have been a great help for England here.

Ind 201/6 after 64 overs (Virat Kohli 62, R Ashwin 55)
The Kohli-Ashwin stand is now worth 95 runs. India will continue to bat on and on for as long as they can. England’s spinners look tired.

Ind 197/6 after 63 overs (Virat Kohli 60, R Ashwin 53)
One run for the over. A leading edge from Ashwin went just wide off the fielder. Broad could have and should have been used more. He has bowled just 3 overs so far. Three out of 63. And he has taken over 500 Test wickets.

Ind 196/6 after 62 overs (Virat Kohli 60, R Ashwin 52)
Superb by India, they have doubled the lead. Almost impossible to see England get this. But in bowling as well as batting, patience is the key on this wicket.

Ind 194/6 after 61 overs (Virat Kohli 59, R Ashwin 51)
The lead is now 389 runs. Kohli and Ashwin are piling on the misery. England looking absolutely listless on the field.

Ind 192/6 after 60 overs (Virat Kohli 58, R Ashwin 50)
Four tight deliveries by Leach followed by one that is short and wide, Kohli cuts it with ease for two. The Indian batsmen are making it look easy at the moment and they’re getting a fair amount of help from the English bowlers too.

Ind 190/6 after 59 overs (Virat Kohli 56, R Ashwin 50)
FIFTY for Ashwin! The right-hander gets there with a four off Olly Stone. He picked a five-for and has now scored a half-century. A special performance by a special player, that too in front oh his home crowd. Captain Kohli is beaming.

Ind 183/6 after 58 overs (Virat Kohli 55, R Ashwin 44)
Shot! Leach drops it short and Ashwin rocks back quickly to cut it away for four. That was after another sensational, one-handed take by wicketkeeper Foakes.

Ind 179/6 after 57 overs (Virat Kohli 55, R Ashwin 40)
Olly Stone returns to the attack and Kohli clips him for two. Brilliant running once again by the skipper, he was back for the second run in a flash.

Ind 177/6 after 56 overs (Virat Kohli 53, R Ashwin 40)
India will probably be looking to get the lead up to 400 and then declare. This partnership also shows that it is possible to survive if you show the right kind of application.

Ind 176/6 after 55 overs (Virat Kohli 52, R Ashwin 40)
A fine, fine fifty for Kohli. An innings of the highest quality. He has been patient and waited for the loose ball. The first run came after 20 balls and he has hardly put a foot wrong in trying conditions. Brilliant. 50 off 107 balls.

Ind 171/6 after 54 overs (Virat Kohli 49, R Ashwin 38)
India’s lead is up to 366 runs. Ashwin and Kohli are making it look easy.

Ind 164/6 after 52 overs (Virat Kohli 44, R Ashwin 36)
India bat on and on and the longer they bat on, the more difficult it will become for England in their second innings.

Ind 158/6 after 49 overs (Virat Kohli 39, R Ashwin 35)
Moeen Ali to start the session. Steady stuff but India’s batsmen will need to get their eye in again.

Teams are back on the field. How long will India keep batting? Can Ashwin-Kohli keep the stand going?

Time for the lunch break. India are well and truly in charge. And in no rush to declare either. 351 runs ahead with two and a half days to go.

Ind 156/6 after 48 overs (Virat Kohli 36, R Ashwin 34)
Lawrence into the attack and Root takes the most ridiculous review ever. There wasn’t daylight between bat and ball, there was an entire day. Kohli and Ashwin have put on exactly 50 runs in an unbroken stand.

In the session: 30 overs, 102 runs, 5 wickets. RR 3.40.

Ind 149/6 after 46 overs (Virat Kohli 35, R Ashwin 30)
Kohli and Ashwin have already put on 43 runs. Vital on a wicket like this and it stemmed the rot too. India seemed to be going down in a hurry.

Ind 143/6 after 45 overs (Virat Kohli 30, R Ashwin 29)
DROPPED! Really tough chance. Broad into the attack for the first time in the innings, bowls a leg-cutter, get the edge, Stokes (standing a little closer than normal) fails to hold on. Ashwin survives.

Ind 138/6 after 43 overs (Virat Kohli 30, R Ashwin 24)
Ashwin continuing to use the sweep shot a lot and he is using it well. The runs are flowing for India – they are now past England’s first innings total.

Ind 127/6 after 41 overs (Virat Kohli 29, R Ashwin 14)
Root is bowling now as Moeen gets a short break. He is firing it in from around the wicket.

Ind 120/6 after 39 overs (Virat Kohli 28, R Ashwin 8)
Kohli showing a lot of patience in the middle and playing as late as possible. The extravagant drive he played to get out in the first innings has been put away.

Ind 119/6 after 38 overs (Virat Kohli 27, R Ashwin 8)
England continue to dole out the boundary balls and that has been their problem.

Ind 106/6 after 36 overs (Virat Kohli 22)
WICKET! Axar Patel has been trapped LBW by Moeen. The decision was reviewed by India but it came down to umpire’s call. The predicted path showed it would have hit the top of middle. India lead by 301 runs. Axar lbw b Moeen Ali 7(18)

Ind 106/5 after 36 overs (Virat Kohli 22, Axar Patel 7)
Kohli and Axar are using the crease well. Going on the back foot whenever possible. The key on this wicket is to draw the batsmen forward.

Ind 97/5 after 33 overs (Virat Kohli 18, Axar Patel 2)
Kohli and Axar trying to stitch together another partnership and play out time as well.

Ind 96/5 after 32 overs (Virat Kohli 18, Axar Patel 1)
Poor bowling by Leach. The first ball was short and wide, Kohli helped it along for three runs. Then a half-volley later in the over that the India skipper hit for four down the ground. Poor on a helpful wicket.

Ind 86/5 after 30.3 overs (Virat Kohli 9)
WICKET! Bat, pad, caught. Rahane gone too. India are collapsing here. Moeen gets another wicket. Rahane c Ollie Pope b Moeen Ali 10(14)

Ind 82/4 after 29 overs (Virat Kohli 5, Ajinkya Rahane 10)
Back-to-back fours for Rahane. India don’t really care about the runs but they do want to spend as much time on this wicket as possible. Will be almost unplayable in the fourth innings.

Ind 74/4 after 28 overs (Virat Kohli 5, Ajinkya Rahane 2)
DROPPED! Kohli gets a life. Goes for the drive, can’t keep it down, a diving Burns gets his finger tips to it. Run-scoring is proving to be very difficult. Tough, tough chance.

Ind 69/4 after 27 overs (Virat Kohli 2, Ajinkya Rahane 0)
Moeen, an off-spinner, is bowling on a turning pitch to a right-hander but England have no leg-slip. Slightly odd to see that.

Ind 65/4 after 25.3 overs (Virat Kohli 2)
WICKET! Pant stumped too. He charged out of the wicket, ball turned sharply, Foakes collected it well and completed the stumping. Pant st Foakes b Jack Leach 8(11)

Ind 61/3 after 25 overs (Virat Kohli 2, Rishabh Pant 4)
After 19 balls, Kohli gets his first runs – just helped it along.

Ind 58/3 after 23 overs (Virat Kohli 0, Rishabh Pant 3)

Almost another wicket in the over – off a full toss! Pant going for the sweep, getting a top-edge. Survives. Moeen will feel better now that Rohit is back in the dressing room.

Rishabh Pant has come out to bat ahead of Ajinkya Rahane.

Ind 55/3 after 21.1 overs (Virat Kohli 0)
WICKET! Early wickets for England. Rohit Sharma has now been stumped. Just outside the crease. Rohit st Foakes b Jack Leach 26(70)

Ind 55/2 after 21 overs (Rohit Sharma 26, Virat Kohli 0)
A maiden over for Moeen. Kohli plays it out carefully.

Ind 55/2 after 19 overs (Rohit Sharma 26)
WICKET! Pujara gets the day going in the strangest way possible. Bat gets stuck in the crease and he is run out. Pujara run out (Ollie Pope/Foakes) 7(23)

We are all set for play on Day 3 to begin. India will continue to play positively and extend England’s misery.

How good was Ashwin in England’s first innings? The off-spinner was once again in his elements for India as he picked up back-to-back five-wicket hauls at his home ground in Chennai.

Data check!

Day 2 review: India built a commanding lead of 249 after spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (5/43) helped skittle England for 134 on day two of the second Test on Sunday.

The hosts were 54 for one at stumps in Chennai with Rohit Sharma on 25 and Cheteshwar Pujara on seven. India are in sight of a victory that would level the four-match series after their crushing defeat in the opening Test.

Sharma, who hit 161 in India’s first innings, survived a stumping chance on 20 when England wicketkeeper Ben Foakes failed to gather the ball to his left off Moeen Ali.

Jack Leach trapped Shubman Gill leg before for 14 with his left-arm spin and the opener walked back after an unsuccessful TV review.

Ashwin had earlier claimed five wickets as England collapsed in response to India’s 329, conceding a lead of 195.

Talk about the pitch: When Dan Lawrence slumped to his knees after getting out on Sunday, it was the surest sign that England were groggy against India’s master spinners on a devilish pitch.

As England stare at defeat in the second Test in Chennai some pundits are saying it was one of the toughest wickets ever prepared.

Former Australia player and TV commentator Mark Waugh said the Chennai pitch was “unacceptable”, crumbling so early in the game.

Publicly, England put on a brave face over the collapse and the role of the wicket.

“Incredibly challenging,” said assistant coach Graham Thorpe of the pitch, who has experienced his share of batting in India.

“We know that pitches deteriorate here as a game goes on and this one has gone a little bit quicker.”

“They are obviously a very skilled spin attack in their own conditions,” he added. “It was a very good toss to win.”

When pressed further about the pitch, Thorpe said: “That is obviously for someone above me to look at.”