Mohali Test: All-rounder Ashwin puts India in cruise control vs England on Day 3

Indian captain Virat Kohli celebrates the wicket of Moeen Ali with Ravichandran Ashwin on the third day of the third Test match between India and England in Mohali on Monday PicPTIMohaliStar India allrounder Ravichandran Ashwin kept his team firmly on course for yet another comprehensive victory outclassing England on all counts in Mohali at the end of the third days play in the third cricket Test At stumps England were in deep trouble at 78 for four still 56 runs in arrears and only six wickets at their disposalEarlier in the day Ravindra Jadeja smashed his way to a careerbest 90 while Ashwin hit 72 as lower middleorder once again put up a powerpacked performance to score a commendable 417 in the first innings thereby giving India a healthy 134run lead over England A fourday finish with a 20 lead is looking imminent forIndiaHaving set up the match with a wellcompiled halfcentury with the bat Ashwin 319 in 12 overs came back to remove rival captain Alastair Cook 12 Moeen Ali 5 and Ben Stokes 5 as India tightened the noose around England Jayant Yadav 112 in 6 overs then came in to remove first innings halfcenturion Jonny Bairstow 15 before the close of play Englands No 1 batsman Joe Root 36 batting 101 balls stands between India and victory While he may not be 100 per cent fit but Ashwin looked like getting a wicket with most of his deliveriesOn a pitch where Moeen Ali and Gareth Batty looked ordinary Ashwin with his length and deception looked more potentIt seemed Ashwin has been successfully able to play on Captain Cooks mind as he again tried in vain to indulge in a game of survival Cook survived a couple of close calls on DRS but then Ashwin bowled one that angled in with skipper playing down the wrong line only to find his bails clipped offMoeen batting at No 3 didnt reach to the pitch of the delivery and his forced chip shot could not clear Jayant Yadav at midon who ran a few yards back to complete a reasonably simple catchRavindra Jadeja celebrates his fifty Pic AFPThe highlight of the first two sessions was Jadejas 90 off 170 balls that had 10 fours and a six His partnership of 97 with Ashwin is likely to have a great impact in the final context of the match Not to forget the 80run stand he shared with rookie Jayant 55 141 balls 5x4 who also helped himself to a maiden halfcentury in Test cricket Jadeja also eclipsed his previous best of 68 against the same opposition at Lords in 2014Debutant Jayant Indias find of the series once again impressed with his fighting qualities as his gutsy innings ensured that India scored 400plus for the third consecutive time in the seriesFor the record no visiting team has won against India after having conceded 65run lead in the first innings The last time it happened was 52 years ago back in 1964 when Bob Simpsons Australia won after conceding a 65run first innings leadIt was also the first time in the history of Indiancricket that three players Ashwin Jadeja and Jayant batting at No 7 or below have scored a halfcentury each inthe same inningsJadeja started the post lunch session in style as he hammered Chris Woakes bowling from the press box end for fourboundaries in an over The next over from the end saw Woakes being removed and Adil Rashid 4118 being introducedJadeja jumped out at the first opportunity in his bid toloft him for a six but was caught by Woakes at the longon boundary to miss out on a Test tonBut Umesh Yadav 12 42 balls gave Jayant 55 goodcompany as they added 33 runs to frustrate the visitorsfurther as India crossed 400run mark and Jayant reached hisindividual milestoneEarlier there couldnt have been a better start for the hosts as Woakes bowled a juicy halfvolley on the pads forAshwin to clip one to the boundaryThe lead came when Jadeja lofted Moeen Ali over midoffin the last delivery of the 88th overAshwin was looking in fluent touch as he slashed Woakes hard for a boundary between point and cover region It was followed with another fluent drive as the allrounder reached70sFinally after India reached 300 Ben Stokes broke thepartnership with Ashwin playing a lazy drive to a delivery wayoutside offstump only for Jos Buttler to take a low catchBut Jadeja got an able ally in Jayant as the duo didntcurb strokeplay showing positive intentThe Saurashtra allrounder duly completed his fifty whenhe pushed Rashid for a single and celebrated it with acustomary sword wielding As if to drive home a point he flatbatted Stokes over midon for a boundaryYoung Jayant showed his batting prowess once again as he on drove and square drove Jimmy Anderson before playing apullshot off Rashid He duly competed his halfcentury in 132balls