Run-machine Kohli wallops England

Skipper Virat Kohli slammed his third double century of the year as his magnificent 235 powered India to a mammoth 631 runs, a lead of 231 runs, in their first innings on the fourth day of the fourth and penultimate Test against England on Sunday.

The touring side, down 2-0 in the five-match series, trail India by 49 runs with four second-innings wickets remaining at stumps on the fourth day. All-rounder and number nine batsman Jayant Yadav (104) also hit his maiden Test century to provide an ideal support to his captain. A plethora of records were made on Sunday during India's innings.

Jayant joins the Virat Kohli show

Mumbai: India put themselves on the cusp of completing a comprehensive series victory with England caught in a spin web following skipper Virat Kohli's career-best 235 at the end of the fourth day of the fourth cricket Test.

Records tumbled one after another as Kohli's third double ton in as many Test series was complemented by Jayant Yadav's maiden hundred with India piling up a mammoth 631 thereby taking a lead of 231 runs.

In reply, England were left tottering at 182 for 6 needing another 49 runs to avoid innings defeat as the hosts are now all but assured to regain the Anthony De Mello Trophy that they had lost back in 2012.

Ravichandran Ashwin (2/49), Ravindra Jadeja (2/58) and Jayant Yadav (1/39) shared five of the six wickets. The other wicket-taker was Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/11), who removed first innings centurion Keaton Jennings (0). It was a day of records with Jayant being the first Indian to score a Test hundred at No 9 and 241 runs added for the eighth wicket between Jayant and Kohli literally put England out of the game. With Indian spinners proving to be much superior in quality than their Indian counterparts, it will be a matter of time before the home team take series clinching lead going into Chennai for the fourth Test.

Jonny Bairstow was the not out batsman for England, on 50, after Jake Ball departed in the final over of the day. Skipper Kohli yet again proved why he is among the top three batsmen in world cricket. The India captain struck 25 fours and one six in his monumental eight-and-a-half hour innings while he faced 340 deliveries. With an able ally in Jayant, Kohli dictated terms for the second successive hitting boundaries on both sides of the wicket.

He attacked the loose deliveries, the intensity didn't drop one bit even after he reached 175 plus as he was still running the second run as hard as ever. When England batted Bhuvneshwar got rid of first innings debut centurion Keaton Jennings for a first-ball duck with an inswinger that caught the batsman plumb in-front.

The Kohli-Jayant partnership of 241 lowered India's previous best for the wicket of 161 set by Mohd Azhauddin and Anil Kumble in 1996-97 against South Africa at Kolkata. They beat the previous India-England highest eighth-wicket partnership of 168 (1971) by Ray Illingworth and Peter Lever at Old Trafford.