In a match heading towards a tame draw, a sparkling spell from Ravindra Jadeja enabled India to break the England line-up into two. As if that were not enough, he pulled off a spectacular catch to dismiss India's nemesis, Jonny Bairstow, and cleaned up their tail to finish with a seven-wicket haul. India won the Test by an innings and 75 runs in the at the end of Day 5 at Chepauk.
Jadeja had come into the game well after Karun Nair and Lokesh Rahul had set-up a winning lead. A late declaration from Kohli, that could have gone the wrong way had India not won the Test, left England approximately 95 overs to survive. However, they were found out by Jadeja on a friendly batting surface.
The horrors of spin continued to torment England even on a surface where they themselves put on a good first innings score of 477. If they cannot survive spin on a pitch like the one laid out at Chepauk, there is little to take away for them from the series.
They have had their positives and a 4-0 scoreline probably does not do just to the efforts of their batsmen, in particular, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow. They have had a couple of young openers impressing in the series but their bowlers have been pathetic and they have paid the price for that.
Here are the talking points from the final Test at Chennai:
#5 England's workhorse, Moeen Ali
Moeen Ali is quickly turning into England's go-to man for any situation. If they want a breakthrough with the ball, Ali is the man to go to, or a replacement batsman at no. 4 for Ben Duckett, Ali can do the job. They need an opening partner for Cook. Why not try Moeen Ali?
The utility player is being utilitised everywhere by England and he has batted at all positions from 1-9 in his career. After learning the doosra from Saeed Ajmal, the spinner unleashed it in a Test match but soon stopped bowling the same to avoid being called up for a suspect action.
But does he need it? He is easily England's first choice spinner given his ability with the bat. The 146 in the first innings he helped England to 477, a fighting total on a good batting wicket. He then proceeded to bowl 41 overs in India's first innings. He contributed even more as he came out to rescue England from a precarious position with a score of 44 from 97 balls. His workhorse nature is quickly making him Cook's go-to-man.
#4 Joe Root takes over from Bairstow as 2016's highest run scorer
Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow have been in a close battle for the mantle of highest Test run scorer of the year. Bairstow has been super consistent for England at no. 5 and has produced some fine knocks right through the year.
Root took just 6 runs in the second innings, dismissed leg before wicket by Ravindra Jadeja. Bairstow, however, could not overtake him as he fell for 1 off Ishant Sharma to a brilliant catch from Jadeja again.
This meant that Michael Vaughan's record of 1481 runs in a calendar year remained intact. Root fell 4 short with 1477 runs in the year at an average of 49.23 with 3 hundreds and 10 half-centuries. Bairstow, meanwhile, has 1470 runs with 3 hundreds and 8 half-centuries.
#3 Lokesh Rahul keeping Gambhir and Dhawan out of Test Cricket
The form of Lokesh Rahul has meant that Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan are virtually out of contention unless an injury to either him or Vijay brings one of them back in. The chances of that are also looking slim with Parthiv Patel playing some gutsy knocks as back-up opener.
Kohli even suggested using Patel as reserve batsman when Saha returns. The likelihood of including a reserve opener when Pujara and Patel could do the job seems slim, especially since Karun Nair's triple hundred makes for a crowded middle order.
Any injury to Vijay or Rahul is likely to be accompanied by a promotion for Pujara or Patel, and the inclusion of the reserve middle order batsman. Rahul's 199 means Dhawan and Gambhir are restricted to playing Ranji matches.
#2 Karun Nair makes selectors job tougher
Karun Nair was struggling for runs before this game and seemed set to be dropped for the series against Australia with Rahane hopefully back from injury. But a sensational triple hundred, just the second Indian to cross the mark, has put him firmly in contention for a place in the starting 11, forget the 15.
With Rahane expected to recover from injury, India will struggle to create room for both of them. With Kohli preferring a five man attack for most Tests, there are very few open spots for batsmen. He cannot be blamed for his strategy, though, given the way Ashwin, Jadeja and Jayant have batted.
The selectors' job is a tough one when they sit down to pick the squad for the series against Australia. They cannot drop Nair after his 303* and they cannot drop Rahane, who has been a mainstay of India's Test batting line-up. Tough one there!
#1 You cannot keep Jadeja out of the game
Be it with the bat, the ball or in the field, you just cannot keep Ravindra Jadeja out of the game. He has a knack of seizing the situation. The Rajkot boy was at it yet again at Chepauk as India were left searching for a wicket in England's second innings. Cook and Jennings had kept India at bay and were looking set for a draw when Jadeja had Cook caught at leg slip.
He removed Jennings in the next over with a flighted delivery that he played back to Jadeja's hands. He then proceeded to have England's best batsman, Root, leg before wicket. He convinced Kohli for the review and it turned out to be the right choice. He wasn't done though and helped Ishant get a wicket with a superb running catch to send back Jonny Bairstow.
The all-rounder later returned to dismiss Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes to put India in the driver's seat and secured his five-wicket haul. By removing Broad and Ball late in the day, he ended up with 7 wickets and led India to victory in the Test.
He had also dismissed Root in the first innings and has had Cook six times in the series. While Ashwin and Jayant have been hogging the limelight, Jadeja has gone about his business in usual manner.
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