Fifth Test: Nair, Ashwin help India take 105-run lead vs England

Chennai, Dec 19: Karnataka youngster Karun Nair (195 not out) and Ravichandran Ashwin (54 not out) continued to frustrate England as India posted 582/5 at tea, to take a slender 105-run lead on the penultimate day of the fifth and final cricket Test here on Monday.

Nair, who notched his maiden ton in the morning session of play, carried on to go past the 150-run mark as he and Ashwin forged a 147-run unbeaten stand for the sixth wicket and defied any inroads by the visitors at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here.

England, however, had a slim chance to break the partnership when part-timer Keaton Jennings found Ashwin in front but the umpires ruled the decision in favour of the home boy after reviewing the decision.

Other than that, it was the 25-year-old Nair all the way as he batted with extreme ease, guiding the odd ball past the ropes on 23 occasions while lofting one over it.

Playing just his third Test, Nair, who went into the lunch break undefeated at 122, reached his 150 in 240 balls.

Nair and Ashwin first completed their 50-run stand in 103 balls before taking it past the 100-run mark in 77 more deliveries.

The right-handed duo complimented each other well, rotating the strike as India overhauled the visitors' first innings total of 477 just after the lunch interval.

While the pacers bent their backs to extract some bounce with the short-pitched stuff, the spinners, however, managed to generate some turn after the lunch break but that hardly mattered to the Indian duo.

Ashwin, meanwhile, went on to score his fourth half century of the series in 116 balls before Jennings created a chance only to be turned down by the umpire.