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| First test, Chennai (day five) |
| England 578 (Root 218) & 178 (Root 40, Ashwin 6-61) |
| India 337 (Pants 91, Bess 4-76) & 192 (Kohli 72, Anderson 3-17, Leach 4-76) |
| England win by 227 runs |
| Scorekeeper |
James Anderson and Jack Leach led England to a famous 227-run victory against India on the final day of Test 1 in Chennai.
Anderson inspired England at 3-17 and Jack Leach took 4-76 as England inflicted just a second home loss on their hosts in eight years.
India got off to a decent start in their pursuit of a 420 world record, before Anderson was a devastating game changer when he showed up.
He threw Shubman Gill and Ajinkya Rahane into an incredible reverse swing over and caught the dangerous Rishabh Pant shortly after.
Virat Kohli kept England up in the afternoon session with 72, but was brought down by one who got away from Ben Stokes.
Leach claimed the key wicket from Cheteshwar Pujara earlier in the day and eliminated Ravichandran Ashwin, who made 54 with Kohli.
Jofra Archer sealed the victory by having Jasprit Bumrah trapped behind 35 minutes before tea.
England, severely underprivileged before the series began, take a 1-0 lead in the second match of the four-round series, which begins Saturday on the same pitch.
An England team comes of age
This victory must be England’s best in recent years in test cricket.
There have been historic successes, the Ben Stokes-inspired win at the 2019 Ashes, a historic win in Cape Town 13 months ago and a good comeback against Pakistan last summer.
But this is India in India. Virat Kohli’s team had lost one of their last 35 home events, a run that dates back to their last series loss at home: England’s win over Alastair Cook in 2012.
There were questions about the tourist’s tactics on the fourth day and Kohli delayed things for a while, but Anderson and Leach made sure those whispers were irrelevant.
In truth, it was almost the perfect performance for England, who are undefeated in 11 rounds under the captaincy of Joe Root.
There were outstanding performances from seasoned players such as Root, whose first 218 innings set up victory, Stokes and Anderson, but also contributions from their emerging young players.
Starter Dom Sibley made a crucial 87 on the first day, Dom Bess, though disappointing on the final day, won 4-76 in the first inning and Jofra Archer pitched well on a tired field.
More to follow.
