James Anderson leads England to 227-run victory over India in first Test

Never in his wildest dreams could Joe Root have imagined his 100th Test match unfolding like this. To celebrate the milestone with a double-century was one thing but to see his England team then turn this into a resounding 227-run victory and take a 1-0 lead over India truly was the stuff of fantasy.

This was one of England’s greatest away wins, sealed on the fifth afternoon in Chennai when Jofra Archer found the edge of Jasprit Bumrah’s bat for the simplest caught behind by Jos Buttler. India, set an improbable 420 to win and looking to bat out the day to prevent just their second home defeat in more than eight years, were all out for 192 despite a typically defiant 72 from Virat Kohli.

Root’s epic 218 in the first innings was the foundation for all this, allowing England to control the match after posting 578 on the board in their first innings. But equally impressive was the performance by his bowlers, claiming 20 wickets on the red soil of Tamil Nadu to defy a good number of pre-series predictions.

After all, this was the ground where four years ago England shipped a record 759 for seven for a harrowing innings defeat. Yet here they prevailed, hunting as a collective throughout and on a final day that saw Jack Leach finish with figures of four for 76, and Jimmy Anderson produce a masterclass in his three for 17.

Like an ice-cream on the neighbouring Marina Beach, any anxiety Root might have been feeling after the debate about his non-declaration the previous evening soon melted away during a remarkable five-wicket morning that left the result tracking in one direction thereafter.

Anderson was irresistible, while Archer was blood-curdling in a burst before lunch that saw Ravichandran Ashwin sustain nasty blows to hand, wrist and head. But the initial impact of Leach, whose removal of Rohit Sharma the previous day saw India resume on 39 for one, should not be overlooked.

Kohli may be India’s kingpin – and his 72 augurs well for the hosts as they look to strike back on the same ground from next Saturday – but Cheteshwar Pujara presented arguably the most significant impediment for England to overcome given the home side’s task for the day and his adhesive qualities.

But just shy of 30 minutes into proceedings Leach repeated much of the drifting, spinning delivery that bowled Rohit Sharma before stumps on day four, this time finding the shoulder of the bat to pop a catch to Ben Stokes at slip via Pujara’s hip.

Jack Leach celebrates the wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara. Photograph: BCCI

Root had opened with Archer, holding Anderson back in until the 27th over to furnish him with the SG ball at its most ripe for reverse swing; what followed was a spellbinding burst of seven overs, four maidens, three for eight that rank among the very best of a career already assured of its greatness.

There was no easing into his spell from the 38-year-old either; no loosening of the limbs with a few gentle ones. Instead, just two balls into his work another eye-catching innings of 50 by Shubman Gill was vaporised, the ball hooping into the opener and finding a gap between bat and pad to send the off-stump cartwheeling.

New man Ajinkya Rahane did well to survive a repeat delivery second ball. An impassioned appeal for lbw was declined on the field and though Hawk-Eye showed it to wiping out middle, England’s review was struck down on umpire’s call due to possible impact outside the line.

There was no doubt about the follow-up, however, with Rahane’s off-stump going the same way as Gill’s with another lavish inswinger. This was a truly devastating over from Anderson, the kind that can only send shockwaves through an opposing dressing room.

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Rishabh Pant was first out, fresh from an eye-popping 91 in India’s first innings of 337 all out. But the hope of repeating his final heroics in Brisbane last month were soon wiped out by Anderson, as a smart off-cutter saw the left-hander bunt the ball tamely to Root at short cover.

With Dom Bess teasing an edge behind off Washington Sundar, on a day when the off-spinner served Kohli a feast of full tosses and struggled to recapture the control witnessed during his first-innings four for 76, India found themselves limping into the lunch break on 144 for six.

Ashwin had shown considerable courage up to this point but shortly after the resumption gave into temptation, feathering a catch behind to Buttler off Leach. It left Kohli stood on the burning deck until Stokes, underused during the match, bowled the India captain with one that shot along the ground.

Thereafter it was simply a matter of time, Leach claiming his fourth with the wicket of Shahbaz Nadeem, before Archer inflicted the coup de grace to spark England’s celebrations out in the middle.