AHMEDABAD, India, (Reuters) – Virat Kohli’s India broke their huge home record with a 3-1 series victory over England yesterday, the tourists whipping another test-spin inside three days in the fourth and final test.
India’s 13th successive Test series victory at home also secured their place in June’s final in the World Test Championship against New Zealand.
In a sign of India’s strength, they won the last two matches in a total of five days – the usual length of one test match – at Ahrenddabad’s Modi Narendra Stadium.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel were once again the architects of their batting victory and 25 runs in the final. The spinners captured all 10 wickets in the second England innings. They finished the series with a combined collection of 59 wickets, though Patel did not play the opening test that England won.
“The first game was a bit of an aberration, just a hiccup, when England defeated us,” said Kohli.
“You are obviously happy when you win so many series but there are always things to improve, as after the first game in Chennai we had to raise our body language.”
After sub-par 205 in the first few posts, England needed a significantly improved batting performance in the second to stay alive, but their front-line batsmen again disappointed them.
With the exception of Dan Lawrence, who scored 46 and 50, the rest looked scarred from their struggles against spin in the previous game at the same venue.
Jonny Bairstow registered his third duck in four flyovers, which could mean his place in the England test squad cannot be maintained. Root finished as the top scorer in the series following his 218 in the first test, but otherwise it was a boring batting display by his side.
ROTATION POLICY
England crossed the 200 mark only twice in eight flyovers and repeatedly revisited their combination in line with their policy of resting multi-format players.
They failed to read the third test track, attacking a long vein on a nightjar’s paradise.
In contrast, Indian spinners sowed the seeds of doubt in the mind of the English batsmen, most of whom played for spin and then succumbed to unspoken deliveries.
“The last three games have been testing for us and we haven’t been able to match India,” said Root, backing their rotation policy.
“The world we live in now is not going to disappear, it’s very important that we understand that and look after our players.
“It’s a big year of cricket, there are three formats to consider and we can’t keep playing guys until they fall over.”
India took advantage of their home advantage to win three games in a row.
Ashwin’s overall brilliance helped level the series in Chennai and Patel bowled them to victory inside two days in the third match in Ahmedabad.
Rishabh Pant turned the final test with a game-winning century before spinners completed the junk.
The white-ball phase of the series kicks off on March 12 with a five-game Twenty20 series followed by three one-day internationals.