India wins fifth and final Test in three days to take series against England 3-1 as Bazball comes under question again.
India maintained their aura of invincibility at home after completing a 4-1 series win against England on Saturday.
The ease with which they achieved the final victory may well subject the visitors' much-hyped 'Bazball' approach to fresh scrutiny.
Rohit Sharma and his men clinched the series in the fourth Test in Ranchi, but did not take their foot off the pedal in Dharamshala, where they defeated England in three days.
The victory, which cements two-time runners-up India's position at the top of the World Test Championship standings, will have a special place in Ravichandran Ashwin's memory.
The India player claimed five wickets in the second innings to hasten England's collapse in their 100th Test match.
𝙒.𝙄.𝙉.𝙉.𝙀.𝙍.𝙎! 🏆
Congratulations #TeamIndia by winning the @IDFCFIRSTBank #INDvENG Test series 4⃣-1⃣ 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/IK3TjdapYv
-BCCI (@BCCI) March 9, 2024
India's 17th consecutive win in a home Test series
Meanwhile, England seamer James Anderson became the first pace bowler to claim 700 Test wickets, partially dispelling the pessimism that had gripped the traveling fans of England's 'Barmy Army'.
This was India's 17th consecutive Test series win at home, where they have not lost a series since Alastair Cook's England beat them in 2012.
And they did it without batting stalwart Virat Kohli, who missed the series due to personal reasons, and seamer Mohammed Shami, who was injured.
Batsman KL Rahul also missed the last four Tests through injury, but the formidable strength of India's bench meant his absence was not really felt.
Of the five Indian players who made their Test debut in the series, stumper Dhruv Jurel, seamer Akash Deep and batsmen Sarfaraz Khan and Devdutt Padikkal impressed immediately.
“I've always believed that there is an incredible amount of talent in India and a lot of youngsters, young players coming through,” India head coach Rahul Dravid said.
“And it was a great opportunity for them to step up and show how good they are, and we saw that throughout the series.”
Defeat at Dharamshala.
congratulations to @BCCI about his victory in the series 👏
Match Center: https://t.co/jRuoOIp988#INDvENG | #EnglandCricket pic.twitter.com/aJWlyhpFoB
– England Cricket (@englandcricket) March 9, 2024
Duckett's unfortunate dismissal
Under Stokes and head coach Brendon “Baz” McCullum, England have adopted a flamboyant, yet risk-filled, style of cricket based on fearless batting.
The same approach that largely worked in our country seemed somewhat one-dimensional and even reckless.
The firing of starter Ben Duckett on Saturday illustrated the limitations of that approach.
Having conceded a first innings lead of 259, England were already far behind and would have benefited from cautious and confident batting to avoid an innings defeat.
Instead, whether due to a lack of confidence in his own defense or a need to assert himself early, Duckett attacked Ashwin only to miss the ball and lose off-stump.
The first match was so far along the court that he would have been stumped if he hadn't been released.
On the contrary, Joe Root, who struck out 84 in England's meager 195 second innings, showed how touring batsmen can temper their aggression to dominate spin in India.
However, Stokes maintained his team's general approach and opined that a good offense was the best defense against the crafty home players.
“When India gets to the top, especially with the ball, they have a lot of men around the bat and with the quality of their [spin] bowlers… you have to find ways to get rid of those close bowlers,” the all-rounder explained.
“You just have to be positive enough to take that risk, accept that it can lead to ruin. But when the intention is there and you have a clear reason why you are playing that shot, you can put your hands up and accept it.”
