Karun Nair got to a first ever triple century, having completed a maiden Test hundred in the morning and a double in the afternoon – he became only the third Indian to convert a first Test century into a double and the first to make it a triple – as India piled on the runs, a record total in their Test history, on day four of the fifth Test match against England in Chennai.
With the deficit nearly wiped out before lunch, India marched past England's first innings total of 477 early in the second session, before going on to break records. Karun Nair was the scorer in chief, with Murali Vijay, first, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja giving the Karnataka man, who became only the fourth ever Indian to go past 250 and the second, after Virender Sehwag, to notch a triple as he swept his way to a stunning score, great company in the middle.
Nair (303 n.o., 381b, 32x4, 4x6) got to his hundred quickly enough and then the 150 and then the 200, with no signs of him stopping anytime soon. With the right-hander dropped when he was in his double hundreds, he went on to make 250 and with Kohli showing no signs of wanting to declare, even as India crossed 700, Karun just kept going and going. India went on to score their highest ever total in Test match cricket as Karun went into the doubly nervous (or is that triply?) 290s, with Jadeja (51, 55b, 1x4, 2x6), only he knows why, taking up the strike for a bit, just to increase the tension.
The left-hander would fall, caught in the deep, after completing his half-century, with Karun Nair one short of the triple hundred. India, really should have declared a fair while back, but now that the decision to wait had been taken, the new batsman – Umesh Yadav – came out into the middle. He took a single in the second ball of the 191st over to give Karun the strike, and after missing a sweep shot, he got to that outstanding triple hundred with a cut through the offside. The entire dressing room stood up to applaud and Kohli called the batsmen back as India declared on a record 759 for seven.
With five overs to face, Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings, having just gone through one of the longest days they will ever face on the cricket field, came out to bat. The first over was bowled by Ishant Sharma and then it was spin – two overs each from Ashwin and Jadeja. Cook and Jennings, though, did not lose their concentration, going into stumps with all ten wickets intact.
Starting the day on 71, Karun would have envisaged completing his first hundred in Test match cricket – no way he would have thought he would get 200 more after that – and despite a couple of nervy moments here and there, the 25-year-old, who would have had the disaster that struck KL Rahul on Sunday on the back of his mind, did, reaching the three-figure mark with a glide past backward point for a boundary.
Karun and Murali Vijay, the two overnight batsmen, put on 63 for the fifth wicket, with neither right-hander that troubled by the England bowling. There was the odd ball that bounced and turned and one that kept low as well, and while Stuart Broad did his best to try and make an impact with his opening spell, there wasn't much he could do with the pitch offering so little.
Broad was a touch unlucky when Karun saw an attempted leave clip his bat and fly past the slips for a boundary, but apart from that, the bowlers struggled to really trouble the batsmen. The England bowlers, however, did quite well to keep a lid on the run rate.
Stokes did get a bit of reverse-swing, and also found the edge of Karun's bat, after the batsman had completed his hundred, in a really good spell just before lunch, but, luck was also not on England's side.
That chance came right after Dawson, who kept bowling from one end, had picked his first Test wicket, when he pushed Vijay back and struck him plumb in front. Vijay (29, 76b, 4x4), who might have been out caught behind to Broad early in the session, if England had a review remaining, out of hope more than anything else, asked for a review, with the ball tracker showing it would have crashed into the stumps.
Ashwin came in and took a while to get settled, but he stayed in the middle with Karun, with designs on a big partnership in the second session.
That did come about, with runs flowing at a better pace as well in the post-lunch session, and while it wasn't as fast as perhaps the fans would have liked, it was more than enough to ease India into a lead of well over 100. Karun kept growing in confidence with every milestone passed – he cruised past 150 in the second session – and with Ashwin solid as a rock at the other end, this was a comfortable session for India.
Karun had his fair share of luck in the first session and he had a bit of it in the second too, with a caught behind, when he went for a reverse-sweep, not given – England ruing the fact that they had wasted their two reviews early, yet again. India had one remaining when Ashwin was given out lbw to part-timer Keaton Jennings in the final over before tea, and it proved to be precious, with the ball-tracker showing it would have slid down leg.
India started fairly aggressively in the final session, which was to be expected, with England posting some interesting fields – one right behind the wicketkeeper to stop the ramp shot to the short ball, particularly stood out. That did not prevent Karun from getting to his double century, though, with a cover drive taking him to the mark.
Ashwin (67, 149b, 6x4, 1x6) soon became only the fifth ever player to score 300 runs and take 25 wickets in a series, and the first since Sir Ian Botham in 1981. The India all-rounder, would, eventually fall to a splendid catch from Jos Buttler in gully – the Englishman diving low and to his left – but Karun continued on and with the dangerous Jadeja in the middle, India looked to twist the knife.
Broad, again, bowled pretty well, after England took the third new ball, with a few short balls causing a problem or two to the batsmen. However, it just wasn't enough to stop the run flow as India made merry, and then some.
Scores: First innings: England: 477 all out in 157.2 overs.
India: 759/7 declared in 190.4 overs.
Overnight score: 391/4 in 108 overs.
First innings lead: 282 runs.
Second innings: England: 12/0 in 5 overs, trail by 270.
Batting in the middle: Alastair Cook (3, 17b) and Keaton Jennings (9, 13b, 1x4).
Bowling: First innings: England: Stuart Broad 27-6-80-2; Jake Ball 23-2-93-0; Moeen Ali 41-1-190-1; Ben Stokes 20-2-76-1; Adil Rashid 29.4-1-153-1; Liam Dawson 43-4-129-2; Joe Root 2-0-12-0; Keaton Jennings 5-1-20-0.
Second innings: India: Ishant Sharma 1-0-2-0; R Ashwin 2-0-7-0; Ravindra Jadeja 2-0-3-0.
Fall of wickets: First innings: India: 152/1, Parthiv Patel (41.5 overs); 181/2, Cheteshwar Pujara (50.5 overs); 211/3, Virat Kohli (60.4 overs); 372/4, KL Rahul (102.3 overs); 435/5, Murali Vijay (123.4 overs); 616/6, R Ashwin (170.4 overs); 754/7, Ravindra Jadeja (189.5 overs).
