India thrash England to win Mohali Test

MOHALI: India registered a nine-wicket victory against England in the second Test in Mohali on Monday to lead the three-match series 1-0.
Virender Sehwag who slammed his 11th Test half century marked his return to form with 76 not out in the company of skipper Rahul Dravid on 42 at close of play. Wasim Jaffer was the only Indian to go for 17 runs. Hoggard trapped him plumb.
Anil Kumble who took nine wickets in the match and joined the elite 500-wicket club was adjudged man of the match.
India embarked on a victory course after debutant pacer Munaf Patel took three quick wickets to leave the hosts an easy target of 144 runs to chase.
The 22-year-old pace bowler used reverse swing to devastating effect while Anil Kumble (4 for 17) and Piyush Chawla also chipped in with a wicket each as India bowled out England for 181 in their second innings, 39 minutes before lunch.
With the Indians managing a slender first innings lead of 38 runs, they set themselves a chaseable target of 144 runs at merely 2.4 runs an over to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series.
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By lunch, India had already clipped 28 runs off the target in 7 overs without losing a wicket.
Wasim Jaffer was batting on 15 with three fours while Virender Sehwag was on nine at the break.
The only defiance for the visitors, who added 69 runs to their overnight total of 112 for five, came from skipper Andrew Flintoff who top scored with 51 and put on 42 runs for the ninth wicket with Stephen Harmison.
Nervous England lost a wicket in the very first over of the morning when Geraint Jones played back defensively off Patel only to see the ball roll back onto the stumps.
The wicketkeeper-batsman could add just four runs to his overnight score of one.
Four overs later, Patel struck again, trapping Liam Plunkett plumb in front for one.
Before England could recover from the twin blows by the 'Bharuch Express', Patel came back to dismiss Matthew Hoggard with a toe-crushing yorker.
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The three-wicket burst saw the debutant return an enviable first spell of 8-2-15-3.
Flintoff and Harmison then took it upon themselves to defy the Indian attack and hit a couple of boundaries to consolidate their measly lead.
The indomitable England skipper, who duly completed his 20th Test 50 with four boundaries off 99 balls.
The partnership ended when Harmison (13) was stumped by Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Kumble.
England's second innings ended when debutant leg-spinner Chawla claimed his maiden Test wicket -- the prized scalp of Flintoff for 51 (106 balls, 4x4).
After having shown tremendous patience, Flintoff skied a sweep to backward square fielder Patel who made no mistake in taking a fine catch.
The third Test will be held in Mumbai from March 18 to 22.
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