India break Birmingham jinx to level series 1-1

Akash Deep's career-best performance powered India to a series-levelling win at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The pacer finished with 6 for 99 in the second innings - his best innings figures - and also bagged his best match figures of 10 for 187, playing a pivotal role in India's commanding 336-run victory in the second Test (their biggest in terms of runs in an away Test). Despite a rain delay at the start of Day 5 and a fighting 88 from Jamie Smith, England could only offer brief resistance as Akash ran through the England line-up to register the best match figures for an Indian bowler in England. With the win, their first in nine attempts at this venue, India also became the first Asian team to register a Test victory at Edgbaston.

After the rain interruption pushed back the start of play by 100 minutes, Prasidh Krishna and Akash started the proceedings, with the latter bowling from the opposite end from which he bagged two wickets on Day 4. However, Akash found early success from this end too, getting a tentative Ollie Pope to push forward and play one onto the stumps. Prasidh kept it tight from the other end, unlike the first innings, while Akash kept posing questions on the off-stump and outside. But then there was one that jagged in sharply to Harry Brook, trapping him in front. Akash and Prasidh continued until the drinks break but Ben Stokes and Smith kept the pacers at bay while also finding the boundaries.

Mohammed Siraj was the first bowling change while Ravindra Jadeja came on from the other end and troubled Stokes by targetting the rough outside off. The England captain nearly gloved one to leg-slip but managed to score off Siraj as the sixth wicket stand reached fifty. With about five minutes left for the break, Washington was introduced and bowled in tandem with Jadeja. The offspinner thought he had Stokes caught down the leg-side but Shubman Gill was averse to a review. But Washington struck soon after, getting Stokes out LBW on the brink of Lunch, with a review failing to help the left-hander.

Washington found the outside edge of Chris Woakes's bat right at the start of the second session but the ball landed short of KL Rahul who was standing a bit deep at slip. Jadeja continued from the other end and got through his overs quickly, adding to the pressure. Smith, who was reaching out to play deliveries pitched outside leg from Jadeja, got to his fifty. But India maintained the heat and got Akash back into the attack, with the pacer creating some chances which fell short. Prasidh came in from the other end and he ended the seventh wicket association with a short ball that was top-edged by Woakes. In the same over, Smith used the DRS to reverse an onfield decision of lbw.

Smith then took on short balls from Akash to hit a couple of sixes but the pacer persisted with the back of length deliveries, this time bowling it a tad wider and had the wicketkeeper-batter caught in the deep to bag his maiden fifer and left the field soon after. Brydon Carse tried to fight it out but England lost their ninth as Josh Tongue fell to Jadeja, thanks to a superb catch from Siraj at short midwicket. Akash returned and nearly got his sixth but Siraj misjudged a high catch offered by Carse. Shoaib Bashir struck a six in the same over and then used the DRS to reverse an caught-behind decision when he tried to paddle Jadeja. Akash eventually bagged his 10th of the match, with Gill holding on to a mis-timed shot from Carse.

Earlier in the Test, India's batting effort revolved around their skipper Gill, who smashed 269 - the