Test Cricket: India decimate lacklustre England

Cricket Anthony De Mello Trophy

At 3:48 pm IST, England cricket hung its head in shame.

What started as a good tour with a comprehensive win against India in Chennai in the first Test, concluded in an innings and 25-run defeat in the fourth Test at the Narendra Modi stadium in Motera on Saturday. India won the series 3-1.

R Ashwin (5/47) and Axar Patel (5/48) were the architects of the latest English collapse, picking up five wickets apiece in bowling England out for 135 in 54.5 overs, an innings which lasted all of 210 minutes on the third day of the Test.

As much credit needs to go to Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar as well for if it wasn’t for the wicketkeeper’s magical century and the Chennai lad’s classy 96 not out, India would not have reached 365 in their first innings.

England, looking to overhaul a 160-run lead, did what they have done for three Tests in a row, crumble. This despite watching India’s number eight Washington near a century and number nine in Axar Patel compile a beautiful 43 in a 106-run eighth-wicket partnership on a track that showed little or no signs of wear.

Therein lies the difference between a demoralised, tired bowling and what the Ashwin-Axar tandem could produce again.

Axar, who is yet to go a match without a fifer since his debut three Tests ago, wouldn’t allow England to free their hands and Ashwin wouldn’t let them rest a moment without keeping it in the zone with one of the many variations he has.

It was a treat made marginally less impressive by the fact that England’s batsmen were appalling at just about everything needed to play spin in the sub-continent. At least in the first innings, they came out guns blazing with the intention of hitting their way out of this sticky mess they found themselves in. In the second stint, they were purely out of their depth. The young team did not know how to shield itself from the pressure.

One would have expected them to learn after the drubbing in the second and the third, but with those two contests plaguing their minds and new-norms hindering their usual movement, they weren’t mentally ready for another contest. The rotation-policy, although considerate, didn’t help their cause either. They feared and prepared for a turner and ended up looking amateurs on a track with barely any bite.

Though they showed promise with the ball on the second day of this Test after a semi-decent performance with the bat, Joe Root’s men were simply outplayed by a team now gearing up for the final of the World Test Championship against New Zealand at Lord’s in June.

Ashwin finished the series with 32 wickets from eight innings, including three fifers. Axar ended with 27 wickets from 6 innings with four fifers.

While there was enough written about the influence of the pitch - there was plenty available in the second Test and in the day-night Test - in aiding their numbers, this performance showcased pure skill. Also, the field placements were so specific it felt like they had their video-analysis sessions etched in their minds.

With all these positives, India, who for long maintained that they aren’t concerned about WTC, can now look towards what’s being marketed as a marquee-event.

England will just be glad to get out of this bubble for now and get back home. This could well be the toughest tour some of their cricketers will ever play, but in a few months, they will have a chance to return the favour when India travel to their shores.

Until then, India can bask in the glory of another series victory.