The dismissal was a left-arm spinner's delight. Axar bowled a fuller length, 93kph delivery around middle stump to Bairstow, who played a half-cock forward defensive. Fraught with danger on this pitch, as the Englishman would soon realise.
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The ball turned past his bat's outside edge and pegged back the top of off stump. A befuddled Bairstow could only look back in horror as the Indians rejoiced. You can watch the video of Axar's dream delivery below.
The wicket was a critical one as Bairstow and Root had compiled a 61-run partnership to subdue the hosts. By breaking the stand, Axar brought India back into ascendancy and they never looked back from there. Despite the visitors' attempted Bazball approach, the potent spin trio of Axar, Ashwin and Jadeja scythed through their batting and bowled them out for a (likely) sub-par total of 246 inside 65 overs.
In the process, Ashwin and Jadeja overtook their predecessors Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble as the most successful bowling pair for India in Test cricket. With their collective 502nd wicket in the 50th Test match where they are bowling together, Ashwin and Jadeja went past the previous Indian record of 501 wickets held by Kumble and Harbhajan. The retired duo had bagged their combined haul in 54 matches.
