Ruthless India routed England in Dharamsala, handing the visitors a 1-4 series defeat in the high-stakes five-match series. India did lose the series opener. What transpired in the following four match-ups was no match, effectively. Of course, England had their moments, but five-day matches are not won in sessions -- and a three-day finish serves as a poignant reminder! (Day 3 Blog | Scorecard | Cricket News)
After the innings defeat, England captain Ben Stokes conceded that they "have been outplayed by the better team". England indeed arrived in India with renewed vigour. The proponents of so-called Bazball cricket which had its validation in Pakistan (3-0) started well enough, winning a thriller in Hyderabad.
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"We got so much cricket coming up, so looking forward to it. When you look at the series as a whole, in those small moments we haven't been able to keep it going," Stokes said after the Dharamsala match. "We all know as individuals as to where it all went wrong. When India got on top with the ball a lot of men came around the bat and you got to find ways to keep those guys out of play."
The flamboyant all-rounder, who himself is considered the best man to lead a Bazball-playing team, however, failed to make an impression in the series. But the visitors found new heroes in young Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley; and there were moments to cherish. James Anderson became the first pacer to take 700 Test wickets, while the likes of Zack Crawley and Ben Duckett showed that applying themselves in testing conditions is as important as showcasing skills.
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"Crawley and Duckett continuing their partnership at the top, Bashir and Hartley have been really exceptional the whole series and Root coming into form at the backend is really exciting ahead of our summer," added Stokes. "Amazing to be on the field with Jimmy. 700 wickets for a seamer is quite phenomenal, from the day he first started being a cricketer to where he is now, the desire and commitment are still there and he is the fittest cricketer I have ever seen."
Rohit Sharma, who missed conducting the final rituals in Dharamsala with a stiff neck, was unequivocally clear about how they had executed the plans. After losing the toss, they dismissed England twice -- 218 and 195 -- and in between posted the biggest total of the series -- 477 to effectively outbat their rivals.
"When you win a Test like this, everything has to fall in place. These guys are maybe short of experience, they have played a lot of cricket and I can stand here and see that these guys responded pretty well under pressure," Rohit said.
The series witnessed Indian handing out caps to five debutants, and a 22-year-old leading the scoring charts. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored 712 runs and stunning 26 sixes, eventually took home the Player of the Series award.
The skipper hailed his young opening partner. "He's (Jaiswal) got a long way to go, amazing to be in this position. When a guy's got talent like that who can put pressure on the bowlers from the word go, there will be lots of challenges going forward," added Rohit. "He is a tough guy and loves the challenges, clearly superb series for him and likes to score big."
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The skipper also stated the fact that it is the bowlers who win Test matches. Ravichandran Ashwin topped the charts with 26 wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav collected 19 scalps each, triggering many as English collapse.
"When you win a series like this, we talk about scoring runs and 100s but it is important to take 20 wickets to win a Test. The way bowlers took responsibility was pleasing to see," Rohit elaborated.
