Favourites India completed an eight-wicket victory over Alastair Cook and England in Mohali to go 2-0 up with two matches of the series to play despite batting fifties from Joe Root and the impressive Haseeb Hameed.

[quote cite=”Alastair Cook, England Captain”]To get bowled out for 280 in the first innings, we knew we were behind the eight ball. We had a little bit of a sniff at 200-6, but credit to their lower order.[/quote]

England must now regroup and win the remaining Tests in Mumbai and Chennai to level the five-match series following their 246-run second Test defeat in Visakhapatnam.

From 78-4 overnight, England mustered 236 to set the home side a target of 103. Root’s 25th Test fifty and a second for Hameed, who barely looked troubled by the suspected broken finger that forced him to come in at eight, were rare batting highlights as England failed for a second time on a pitch that deteriorated far less than expected.

Teenager Hameed (59 not out) reached his half-century off 174 balls, getting there with an impressive slog-sweep for six off Ravichandran Ashwin (3-81).

Set 103 to win after the tourists made just 236 in their second innings, India motored to 104-2 off 20.2 overs as Parthiv Patel (67no) struck a fluent 39-ball fifty.

None of the pitches have been turners – we are just playing very good cricket. Getting them out for 280 was a great boost for us having lost the toss.

Virat Kholi, India Captain

The world number one side have now gone 17 home matches without being beaten and will wrap up a series victory if they avoid defeat in the fourth Test in Mumbai, which begins on 8 December.

Despite a second successive defeat to India, England moved up a place in the International Cricket Council’s Test rankings and now sit in second place after New Zealand’s 2-0 series victory over Pakistan.

England’s coliseum set to be rocking

Test cricket returns to fortress Edgbaston next August when England take on the West Indies in UK’s first ever day/night Test Match which will be played with pink Dukes balls and demand on tickets has been huge. Tickets for this historic encounter are on-sale priced at just £6 for Under 16s and from £26 for Adults. To purchase please call 0844 847 1902 or click here to buy online.