India vs England: Hosts setup World Test Championship final against New Zealand with series-clinching innings win

[caption id=“attachment_9386211” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] R Ashwin and Axar Patel each claimed respective five-wicket hauls as India outplayed England in the fourth Test inside three days at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday. With this win, the hosts not only sealed the series 3-1, but also set-up an ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand at Lord’s in June. Sportzpics[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_9386151” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] England opted to bat after winning the toss. With wickets falling at regular intervals, task was cut out for Ben Stokes as he played a gritty knock of 55 to take England to 205. Sportzpics[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_9386161” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Axar Patel continued his consistent form with figures of 4-68 in the first innings. He followed it up with another five-wicket haul in the second innings, his third five-wicket haul in four innings. Sportzpics[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_9386171” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Rohit Sharma fought valiantly during India’s reply despite wickets falling at the other end. Rohit was dismissed for 49 by Stokes, leaving India reeling at 121-5. Sportzpics[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_9386181” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Rishabh Pant came to the hosts’ rescue later on with a well-scripted century. He scored 101 off 118 balls to give India a lead of 160, and was applauded by the cricketing fraternity. Sportzpics[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_9386191” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Washington Sundar once again showcased an iconic batting knock, but was left stranded at 96 not out. Despite a 113-run partnership with Pant and a 97-run stand with Axar Patel, the lower-order batsmen failed to show much resistance, and Sundar missed out on what could have been his maiden Test century. Sportzpics[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_9386201” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Daniel Lawrence’s fifty, along with Joe Root’s 30 were the only takeaways for England in their second innings, as they collapsed for 135, falling short by an innings and 25 runs. Sportzpics[/caption]