All star of the match

Ashwin six-for hands India emphatic win

R Ashwin's six-for handed India an emphatic innings and 36 run victory against England in the fourth Test at Wankhede stadium, Mumbai on Monday.

R Ashwin's six-for handed India an emphatic innings and 36-run victory against England in the fourth Test at Wankhede stadium, Mumbai on Monday.
England had already lost a majority of its side by stumps on the fourth day and their poor showing continued on the final day as well, as their last four batsmen lasted for just 30 minutes.
Ashwin was the chief destroyer and struck in the second over of the day by dismissing Jonny Bairstow, who had held their innings together, with a solid 51, with a carom ball. His departure led to a procession of wickets as Ashwin cleaned up the tail, who offered little resistance.
Ashwin's second victim of the day was Chris Woakes, who had his stumps rattled, after being deceived in flight. Adil Rashid and James Anderson fell in successive overs thereafter, ending England's innings for just 195. Ben Stokes and Jake Ball were Ashwin's other victims in the innings.
Ashwin, in the Test, claimed figures of 12 for 167, which is the best match figures by a spinner at Wankhede stadium. He now has 24 five-wicket hauls, which takes him past Kapil Dev, and into third place in India's all-time list, after Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. Interestingly, in the last two years, Ashwin has 15 five-fors in Tests, which the highest for any bowler in two successive calendar years.
With this win, India were unbeaten for 17 matches in a row - equalling their longest such streak in Test cricket.
"The 231-run lead deflated the opposition, we saw their body language and knew the game was wrapped up when we had that lead. We haven't played on Indian wickets with too much bounce so the adjustment was very important," Virat Kohli said, "Credit to everyone. Vijay played a champion knock and it speaks volumes of his character. For Jayant, too, it couldn't have been any better. I was pretty focused on this game, a chance to seal the series. This series win is probably the sweetest we've had in recent times. We are running out of words to describe Ashwin. The impact he has had on this team. The batsmen have played second fiddle to his performances. Any team would love to have him. It's very difficult to get past him."