Outstanding bowling:Strauss

“I would prefer to view it as an outstanding bowling performance,” said Strauss when asked if the Indian batsmen were made to look worse than they are. “Obviously, when you get on top of opposition sides and when their confidence is reduced, then it becomes even harder for them to compete.

“I think it’s a sort of gradual erosion in their confidence and gradual increase in our confidence. That was the difference between the two sides in the series,” remarked the left-hander here after England beat India by an innings and eight runs to complete a 4-0 whitewash here on Monday.

“It’s been quite fatiguing actually,” replied Strauss when asked about the mood in the side. “It’s been a long four-Test series. I think we had put a lot into it and certainly in this game. Arriving here having won the series already, I think it was a slightly different test for us as a side.

“There’s a temptation to take your foot off the gas and we actually felt we probably had to work harder for this match than any other because we had to spend a long time on the field having enforced the follow-on.”

Strauss was all praise for man of the match Ian Bell and Graeme Swann, who claimed six wickets in the final innings. “Ian Bell’s 200 was a genuinely classy innings and obviously took the game away from India.

“And then the bowlers had to put in a really hard effort on a pretty flat wicket. It was fantastic to see not only Graeme Swann coming through with his wickets but also the way seamers backed him up. It was another set of professional performance,” he pointed out.