They outplayed England on the opening day and held on for the next two days. But India hopes of winning the series was over with a 60-run defeat inside four days at the Ageas Bowl, handing over the series 3-1 to England, with a game to spare.
England played well in the second essay and set-up a healthy target but after bowling the tail-enders out inside 11 runs in the morning, the hopes looked on for a famous Indian victory. However, once again the slide after skipper Virat Kohli’s departure ensured the visitors faced another series defeat against teams that have not fared well on home conditions.
Most of them – including Kohli himself – fell to Moeen Ali, England’s second-choice spinner, who finished with 71/4 and completed a nine-wicket haul in the match (he had taken 63/5 in the first innings). The world’s best spin playing team went down on a spinning track against the opposition’s second-string spinner.
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But in an ironical context, India has lost in successive Test series against the same opposition, at the same ground and to the same spinner.
Needing 245 to win, India lost their openers early to the experience of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. The old warhorses picking up three wickets – including last innings centurion Cheteshwar Pujara – inside 22 runs. Broad started the slide by removing KL Rahul’s off-stump from a ball that came low before Anderson assured Dhawan that he might not play an overseas Test any longer, with an outside the off ball which kissed the edge and flew straight to Ben Stokes at second slip.
With young and dashing Prithvi Shaw sitting on the bench, Dhawan’s poor performances (he scored 23 and 17) makes it almost certain, that the 18-year-old U-19 World Cup-winning captain will play the inconsequential fifth and final Test match at the oval.
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Three wickets down and a match that seemed so winnable just a day ago, now getting out of sight, captain Kohli alongside Ajinkya Rahane once again – like he has been doing for the last two overseas Test series – started rebuilding. Their choice of playing and leaving, of hitting and running showed the failure of other batsmen in doing so. Together the pair put up a 101-run partnership.
But after Tea, Kohli, who had earlier survived two LBW reviews off Moeen Ali fell to the same bowler. He departed to a failed Indian review and with him departed India’s hopes off any comeback victory. The sloppy batting order followed their skipper as the next six wickets fell for just 61 runs, 21 of which came from Ravi Ashwin.
Hardik Pandya came and departed an over later, defending a half-pitch volley from Stokes to Joe Root’s hands. Rishabh Pant, who scored a 29 ball duck in the first innings, got off his mark with a boundary, then followed it with another six off Ali’s bowling. But his counter-attack approach, with no defensive skills, didn’t last long. He eventually fell for 18 from 12 balls.
Late into the innings, Ashwin smashed a few but it was too much for his asking and he was the last wicket to fall trapped in front of the wicket by Sam Curran.