Player of the Match
Player of the Match
1883dThe Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy

Rahul 199 leads strong India reply

KL Rahul fell one short of a maiden double-hundred after leading India's response to England's 477 in excellent batting conditions at the MA Chidambaram Stadium

Match Centre

Statistics

Best performances - Batsmen

KK Nair
KK Nair
303(381) 32x4 - 4x6
Control %84%
  • Productive Shot
  • cover drive
  • 53 runs
  • 6x4 - 0x6
35 18 32 31 68 11 31 77
KL Rahul
KL Rahul
199(311) 16x4 - 3x6
Control %87%
  • Productive Shot
  • flick
  • 41 runs
  • 1x4 - 0x6
13 16 8 29 38 26 23 46

Best performances - Bowlers

RA Jadeja
RA Jadeja
O25
M5
R48
W7
Eco1.92
RHB
OFFLEG
2W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
1W4W
RA Jadeja
RA Jadeja
O45
M9
R106
W3
Eco2.35
RHB
OFFLEG
1W1W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
1W

Match Details

Toss

England , elected to bat first

Player Of The Match

Player Of The Series

Series result

India won the 5-match series 4-0

Match number

Season

Hours of play (local time)

09.30 start, Lunch 11.30-12.10, Tea 14.10-14.30, Close 16.30

Match days

16,17,18,19,20 December 2016 (5-day match)

Test debut

TV Umpires

Reserve Umpire

Match Referee

Commentator: Alan Gardner

END OF OVER:
88 | (wicket maiden) | ENG: 207/10

  • Jos Buttler6 (50b)
  • Ravindra Jadeja25-5-48-7
  • Amit Mishra14-4-30-1

4.35pm: Phew. Bit of a flood, there. Not just the England wickets... India have got their hands back on the Anthony De Mello trophy, the players celebrating in front of the stands. Chepauk has witnessed another thriller. India's unbeaten record stretches to 18, and they have five more home Tests to come in this bumper season. From a neutral stand point, it really is great to see Test cricket being given such love. England won't be feeling it right now, though. Another defeat dumps them down to fifth in the rankings - and the questions for Alastair Cook's captaincy will not be going away, as they pack their bags and return from seven subcontinental Tests with W1 D1 L5 stamped in their passports (and now seven months without a match). Anyway, you can stick a fork in me - I'm done (like England). Karthik will have captured the glorious madness (there's nothing like a fifth-day, final-session Test win) in his report and we'll have plenty more to come on the site. Thanks for your comments and company over the last few weeks - join us again for some more crash-bang-wallop in the one-dayers in the New Year. May you all have a Virat Kohli of a Christmas... From myself, Miller, Gnasher, Al, Nikhil, Karthik, George and everyone else: Cheerio!

4.15pm: We've still got the presentations to come, of course. You can talk amongst yourselves... Ah, here we go, Shastri's back on the mic. First up, time to make that MoM decision: Ravindra Jadeja gets a gong of some sort but the match award goes to Karun Nair for his 303 not out - and that his maiden Test hundred: "I think it will take a couple of days to set in. I was going through all the texts and wishes that I got [last night]. It's an amazing feeling when you contribute to winning a match, so hats off the to team. Everyone congratulated me but we were more focused on winning the match. There's a lot to learn, I've been learning each day, working hard on my game."

India captain Virat Kohli is Man of the Series: [Proud of team?] "Absolutely, especially after winning 3-0, coming out and performing like this, evidence of the character in the side. It was evident the way they batted, bowled. We wanted the youngsters to step up, someone like KL, then Karun comes in after two Test matches. They got us to a position where there was only one winner. Always a tricky position, score 477 then concede a lead of 282. We understood that if we got a couple of wickets, it could slide pretty quickly, Jadeja doing his job, picking up seven - it was great to watch. [4-0 despite losing four tosses?] Toss was out of the equation, pitches out of the equation. Conceded 400 but ended up winning by an innings, that doesn't happen very often. We worked hard day in, day out, we don't care what happens outside, lots of respect in the changing room. That's how we ended up being in a winning position more often than not. Every time were we under the pump, we've fronted up. The lower order has made outstanding contributions. [Fast bowlers] The pace was up there, consistency, better than theirs and that makes me very proud."

Here's England captain Alastair Cook: "No excuses, India were the better team and deserved to win. It was a fifth-day wicket, out of the rough it turned, we got ourselves in a good position at lunch but it wasn't enough to get out. We dropped vital chances and India have been punishing us - it's hard to stop the momentum. Credit to Virat, they've outplayed us. Hard to say as a professional but they've been better. It's a series of missed opportunities, dropped catches have cost us. Not being able to score enough runs and take enough wickets. It's a tough dressing room to be in, we tried as hard as we can but wasn't good enough. Same for both sides, but momentum can go with you. It's a tough place to come to."

"Hi Alan, Shastri and Jadeja were talking in Hindi. Jaddu does speak Gujarati too but Shastri doesn't." Many thanks, Jati Mathu

"I watched 3 days of the test and returned from Chennai only to miss this fantastic finish!" yelps atul bhogle. "Chennai lives up to its reputation of providing great matches! I must say this relentlessness of the Indian batting and bowling has come about under Kohli only. This is truly Kohli's team now. Take a bow King Kohli!"

"17 wickets fell in the first four days, then 10 in the final day," notes Shyam.V, "what a turnaround of fortunes!!!"

Here's Must Hamid: "Jadeja picked 10 out of the 20 wickets for his team while Nair scored 303*. we got to feel sad for Whoever NOT receiving M-o-M today..."

GG, the stage is yours: "The test match has ended... and none of my 1000 plus messages have managed to get a post - I hope now Alan you will have some mercy on me and give me a post! I only hope the team does not get too carried away from its recent success in India - the true test on foreign soil is still to be taken... till then enjoy the limelight!"

4.05pm: Let's hear from the spin twins, Jadeja and Ashwin. Ravi Shastri chats to Jadeja in his own language (presumably Gujarati I'm told Hindi), which I'm not too familiar with, but I did catch this: "It was a good experience, bowling on a flat tack and getting a five-for."

Ashwin: "It was a challenging track to bowl on, I thought he did really well to vary his pace. We wanted to be very aggressive, come out and knock a couple over. The heartening fact was everyone in the series was in the game. They put their hand up, Ishant, Umesh got crucial wickets. Jaddu hardly gives anything away, which gives me freedom to give it a bit more air and vary the pace."

Here's the man who got 199, KL Rahul: "Not easy, been a tough road for me, coming in and out, not easy being injured. But I was really humbled to go out there and get some runs, then I wanted to get as many as I can. [Missing 200?] It will take some time to leave me but hopefully I will learn from my mistakes and get better and better. It was turning off the rough and the slower the spinners bowled the more it bounced. The fast bowlers created pressure and the rough, which Ashwin knew would come in handy."

And a word from the coach, Anil Kumble: "Karun helped us get to 280 [ahead] and that gave us an opportunity. We all knew about his ability, we were disappointed with the first couple of knocks he had, but as soon as he got going he showed what he is capable of. He's a long-term prospect, in his third match to score a triple-hundred is fantastic. Everyone has come in and contributed and we have won on fantastic wickets, despite losing the toss."

3.57pm: What a finish. What a finish! Kohli's India are relentless. For the second Test in a row, they have seen the opposition's 400 and raised it, then pile-drivered their way to victory. There are plenty of people in the stands to celebrate as the India players go on a lap of honour. England, by contrast, have slumped like a drunk with sunstroke, defeated for the eighth time in Tests this year - equalling their worst. At lunch, they had all ten wickets in hand; at tea, they still had six between them and India. Then Moeen Ali chipped Jadeja to mid-on and the dominoes began to tumble. They went from 192 for 4 to 207 all out in what seemed like a blink, 6 for 15 to finish off their winter of grisly collapses. That first-innings total of 477, by the way, is by far the largest in an innings loss.

87.6
W
Jadeja to Ball, OUT, gone, it's all over! England are flat on the canvas! Jadeja has seven, India have 4-0, England are beaten into the dust once again. Regulation dismissal as Ball pushed forwards and the edge was snapped up - one-handed by the triple-centurion Nair - before the stadium erupted. Best figures and a maiden ten-for for Jadeja, who's really turned it on today to seal a wonderful series for the home side

JT Ball c Nair b Jadeja 0 (2m 3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

87.5
0
Jadeja to Ball, no run, oh, a ripper, past the outside edge as he pushes forward - too good for a No.11!
87.4
0
Jadeja to Ball, no run, round the wicket, angled in on the stumps, Ball lines it up to block

Looks like there was a bit of chat between Buttler and Parthiv there - maybe just reflecting on old times as Mumbai Indians? Anyway, here comes Jake Ball, England's last line of defence

87.3
W
Jadeja to Broad, OUT, loops up, taken at short leg... was there glove? Up goes the finger! I think Broad was starting to walk - though that's famously not his style. No need to review, it spat and turned off a length, clearing brushing the glove and ballooning to the close catcher. Off he walks and the dam looks just about fit to burst

SCJ Broad c Pujara b Jadeja 1 (28m 16b 0x4 0x6) SR: 6.25

87.2
0
Jadeja to Broad, no run, pushed through and defended on the front foot
87.1
0
Jadeja to Broad, no run, Jadeja wheels away outside off, this goes on and takes the edge as Broad plunges forward... but it dies in front of slip

Huge total, yet insufficient

0

No. of bigger first inns totals that have resulted in an innings defeat, than England's 477. The previous biggest was 432 by Eng at The Oval in Ashes 2001.

First of the series

0

No. of five-wkt hauls for Jadeja in this series, before this. He has taken a five-for in this innings.

Jadeja, again

6

No. of times Jadeja has dismissed Cook in Tests - most a bowler has dismissed Cook in any series. Cook averaged just 12.50 runs in the series v Jadeja

Jadeja, finally

5

No. of times Cook has been dismissed by Jadeja in this series at an average of 12.20. Kohli introduced him after 19 overs in the morning session.

Expensive drop?

4

Cook's score when he was dropped by Parthiv off Ashwin. He has made 1101 runs at 52.42 on day five of Tests - more than anyone since his debut.

Only the third

2

No. of scores of 200-plus by India batsmen at No. 5 or lower in Tests before Karun Nair. Dhoni and Laxman are the others to do it.

Toss trivialised

4

No. of times India have posted a total of 400-plus in this series after losing the toss. No other team has done it more than thrice in a series.

Mountain scaled

476

The highest 1st-inns deficit overcome by India in Tests against England before this - in Delhi, 1981-82. Overall 477 is their 7th highest against any team.

A rare collection

6

No. of IND batsmen to make 100s in this series - equals their most. Last such instance was against West Indies at home in 1978-79. Overall, 4th such instance.