England collapsed to 112 in their first innings with Indian left-arm spinner Axar Patel snaring six wickets on the first day of the day-night third Test here on Wednesday.
Opting to bat after winning a crucial toss, Joe Root’s men once again looked clueless against the in-form spin combination of Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin.
The visitors lost four wickets in the opening session before unraveling completely in the second. While Patel picked up for 6/38 in 21.4 overs, Ashwin returned figures of 3/26.
Veteran pacer Ishant Sharma, who is playing in his 100th Test, also chipped in with one wicket.
Opener Zak Crawley was England’s top scorer with a breezy 53-run knock that came off 84 balls before he was trapped LBW by Patel. Crawley’s impressive stay at crease included 10 fours.
Skipper Joe Root’s 17 was the only other notable contribution in the below-par total.
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah
England: Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root(captain), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wk), Jofra Archer, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.
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