England vs India 2014 - 3rd Test, Day 5: Moeen Ali inspires hosts to series levelling victory
Southampton, July 31 (IANS): Moeen Ali's maiden six-wicket haul in India's second innings helped England tie the five-match series 1-1, beating the visitors by 266 runs in the third cricket Test at Rose Bowl here on Thursday.
An abysmal batting performance by India saw them being bowled out for 178 on the final day before lunch. Ajinkya Rahane's 52 not out was the standout performance for the visitors.
In what was the worst batting performance in the series, India, who were 112 for four at stumps on the fourth day, lost six wickets for just 66 runs in the morning session to hand England an easy win. The visitors lost Rohit Sharma (6) before even a single run could be added to the overnight score.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who struck a fighting half century in the first innings, didn't stick around for much long, edging a James Anderson delivery straight to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja (15) managed to stem the fall of wickets briefly with a 32-run partnership.
However, Jadeja failed to read a Moeen Ali yorker and, while trying to dig it out, deflected the ball back on to his stumps. The stage was set for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who claimed the record for the most balls faced by a No.9 in a Test series, to pull out another rabbit out of the hat, but it wasn't meant to be.
Moeen Ali claimed his second wicket off the over as Bhuvneshwar lunged forward only managing to balloon a catch to Anderson at gully. Mohammed Shami became Moeen Ali's fifth victim again castled by the part-time off-spinner.
Rahane and Pankaj Singh (9) threw their bat around aimlessly in the end and managed to get a few boundaries, delaying the inevitable. Predictably, it was Moeen Ali who claimed the final wicket once again disturbing the timber.
After a drab first Test draw and a historic win for India at Lord's, the win for England has put the series back in balance. The two sides will next lock horns at Manchester on August 7.
England (first innings) 569/7 declared
India (first innings) 330
England (second innings) 205/4 declared
India (second innings, overnight 112/4)
Murali Vijay run out (Broad) 12
Shikhar Dhawan c Jordan b Root 37
Cheteshwar Pujara c Jordan b Ali 2
Virat Kohli c Buttler b Ali 28
Ajinkya Rahane not out 52
Rohit Sharma c Buttler b Anderson 6
Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Buttler b Anderson 6
Ravindra Jadeja b Ali 15
Bhuvneshwar Kumar c Anderson b Ali 0
Mohammed Shami b Ali 0
Pankaj Singh b Ali 9
Extras (b 4, lb 6, w 1) 11
Total (all out in 66.4 overs) 178
Fall of wickets: 1-26 (Vijay, 11.1 overs), 2-29 (Pujara, 12.2), 3-80 (Dhawan, 28.6), 4-89 (Kohli, 32.2), 5-112 (Sharma, 43.3), 6-120 (Dhoni, 47.2), 7-152 (Jadeja, 60.1), 8-152 (Kumar, 60.5), 9-154 (Mohammed Shami, 62.6), 10-178 (Pankaj Singh, 66.4)
Bowling
James Anderson 14-5-24-2
Stuart Broad 13-6-22-0
Chris Woakes 11-3-23-0
Moeen Ali 20.4-4-67-6
Chris Jordan 5-0-22-0
Joe Root 2-0-5-1
Gary Ballance 1-0-5-0
Match Details
Toss: England chose to bat
Series: Five-match series level 1-1
Test debuts: Jos Buttler (England), Pankaj Singh (India)
Player of the match: James Anderson (England)
Umpires: Marais Erasmus (South Africa) and Rod Tucker (Australia)
TV umpire: Rob Bailey (England)
Match referee: David Boon (Australia)
Reserve umpire: Tim Robinson (England)