India beat England by an innings: fourth Test, day three – as it happened

That’s it for our liveblog. Thanks for your company and emails, today and throughout a thrilling series. We’ll be back on Friday for the start of the T20 series. Good day!

And here’s Virat Kohli

“The comeback pleased me the most. The first game was a bit of an aberration – the toss was important and England outplayed us. Our bowlers weren’t in the game on the first two days. From the next game onwards it was more exciting cricket, and we played with greater intensity. Our bench-strength is as strong as it’s ever been, and that’s a great sign for Indian cricket.

“You’re obviously happy when you are winning so many series but there are always things to improve. We had to pick up our body language after the first Test. I know in the future we’ll have hiccups, but coming back from them has been the hallmark of our team.

“Ashwin’s been a banker for us in the past 6-7 years. Rohit’s knock in the second Test was the defining moment in us coming back in the series – getting 160 on that pitch was worth 250 on a good batting wicket. It was one of his best Test innings, if not the best, and that gave us the momentum we needed as a side. Now we can’t wait to be part of the World Test Championship final.”

The Man of the Series is... Ravichandran Ashwin

“The fact we have qualified for the World Test Championship final gives me the most satisfaction from this series. Our intensity was very low in [the first Test in] Chennai and after that we had to pick ourselves up and win three on the bounce. I thought every time there was a challenging passage of play, someone put their hand up and delivered for us.

“The last four months has been quite a ride for me – not just here but in Australia – and now I’m going to sit back and think about what’s happened. When I reached Australia I did not look like a starter, but I trained for any possibilities I might receive. The management gave me confidence. I feel totally blessed and humbled because with Covid I thought I would not play cricket for a long time and now I have had one of the best months of my career.

“Every pitch is different, every situation is different, so you need to plan accordingly. I can’t be any happier for someone than I am for Rishabh. He has been under a lot of pressure, being compared to some of the legends of the game, which is not fair for a young player. The way he has kept in this series is beyond excellence.

“Axar delivered really well for us and deserved every bit of praise - he was very, very accurate for someone in their first series.”

Specialist subject: the bleedin’ obvious

The Man of the Match is Rishabh Pant.

Here’s Joe Root

“[What are the positives from the series?] The way we played in the first game, obviously, and the fight and character showed by the guys. Huge credit to India – they’ve outplayed us, we’ve got to be honest and realistic about things. We’ve still got a big year ahead and it’s really important that we become a better team for this experience.

“There were are a few key moments that India grabbed and we didn’t. Look at Rishabh’s innings in this game. We were in a really good position and he played extremely well. At no stage did we lie down; of course we didn’t score the runs we would’ve liked, and the way we went about things could have been better, but ultimately credit has to go to India.

“The Ahmedabad pitches didn’t perform exactly as we thought they would, but there’s not a lot of history at this ground. [On rotation] It’s where we are, it’s the world we’re living in. It’s really important we understand that and look after our players. We can’t just keep playing guys until they fall over. We’ve gotta move past that [mindset].

“It’s been a very good series. We’ve enjoyed the hospitality and been looked after brilliantly, so on behalf of the team I’d like to say thank you for that.”

The presentation is about to begin, so we’ll hear from Joe Root in a second.

England’s biggest mistake was to pick the wrong team for the third and fourth Tests. I’m not sure it would have made much difference, mind you - the second Test broke the England batsmen.

India have won their last 13 Test series at home, going back to England’s victory in 2012-13.

Read all ab- oh fair enough

Let’s push things forward

If England beat New Zealand 2-0 and India 4-0 this summer, they’ll be top of the Test rankings. And Covid will have buggered off, so we’ll be able to gather for the open-top bus tour.

I wonder what Shahbaz Nadeem makes of all this. His struggles seem a long time ago.

Selected series averages

• Joe Root 368 runs at 46.00 (no other Eng batsman averaged 30)
• Jimmy Anderson 8 wkts at 15.87 (with an economy rate of 1.92)
• Rohit Sharma 345 at 57.50
• Rishabh Pant 270 at 54.00
• Axar Patel 27 wickets at 10.59
• Ravichandran Ashwin 189 runs at 31.50 and 32 wickets at 14.71

This is (yet) another great spot from Tim

England made the mistake of winning the first Test, and by heaven India punished them for their effrontery. They have slaughtered England in three consecutive Tests, playing some exhilarating cricket in lively conditions. England weren’t good enough, though some of their players deserve great credit, particularly the extraordinary James Anderson. But this is all about the brilliance of India: the new spin twins of Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, who gave a month-long spin-bowling clinic; the class of Rohit Sharma; the naked talent of Rishabh Pant. They’re the best team in the world, and because of this result they have the chance to become the first winners of the World Test Championship.

It’s all over! Lawrence misses, Ashwin hits, and India have won the series 3-1. Ashwin gets his five-for - and, most importantly, India will play New Zealand in the World Test Championship final.

Nine down, one to go. Leach edges Ashwin low towards slip, where Rahane takes another accomplished low catch. He knew he was out this time and casually tossed the ball away. The umpires went upstairs to check, and replays confirmed it was out.

53rd over: England 134-8 (Lawrence 50, Leach 2) Lawrence works Patel for a single to reach a fine fifty from 93 balls, an innings full of personality and composure. Well played.

53rd over: England 132-8 (Lawrence 49, Leach 1) A maiden from Ashwin. The ball before the review was another jaffa that roared past Leach’s outside edge.

Leach is not out He missed it by a mile, mainly because it turned prodigiously. That’s a great advert for DRS.

REVIEW! Leach given out caught behind It was an instant review from Leach, so maybe he didn’t hit it.

52nd over: England 132-8 (Lawrence 49, Leach 1) Washington Sundar replaces Axar Patel (23-6-46-5). Lawrence pushes a couple to move to 49 and then defends the rest of the over. Time for drinks.

“Aside from the wreckage of these last three Tests, can’t we agree that it’s not all total desolation?” says Guy Hornsby. “Lawrence has looked one of the few bright things this last week. He looks relatively unafraid, I hope he gets a run in the team. Leach has been pretty solid, in spite of some treatment. Root was a class act much of the time but really weighed down by so much responsibility. Stokes had looked better after being all at sea. Sibley also looked less shaky, with albeit bad luck. Jimmy was just, well Jimmy. You have to hope the likes of Pope, Crawley, and Burns just aren’t scarred by this too much. They should all be much better at home and in Oz. God, that felt odd, but we can’t just think we’re an appalling team overnight. Even New Zealand would struggle here.”

Even India would.

51st over: England 130-8 (Lawrence 47, Leach 1) Lawrence is batting normally, even though there are only two tailenders left. He waits for a poor ball from Ashwin and smashes it round the corner for four, and then keeps the strike with a single. He threw away a fifty in the first innings; this time he looks like equanimity personified.

50th over: England 125-8 (Lawrence 42, Leach 1) Lawrence shovels Patel off the pads for another single, then Leach inside-edges a hack past leg slip. The commentators are discussing what team India might pick for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, specifically how on earth they are supposed to choose between Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja.

49th over: England 122-8 (Lawrence 40, Leach 0) England need another 38 to make Indi a bat again. More to the point, Ashwin needs two wickets for another five-for, and he beats Leach with a gorgeous dipping offbreak from around the wicket.

48th over: England 121-8 (Lawrence 40, Leach 0) Lawrence thumps a long hop from Patel for four, then lofts the next ball down the ground for another boundary. He’s batted extremely well in this Test. See, even the apocalyspe has a silver lining.

47th over: England 112-8 (Lawrence 31, Leach 0) On the plus side, Dan Lawrence has looked good.

“Who will be the Man of the Series?” wonders Madhu Balasubramon. “Root and Rohit had a few good knocks. Pant and Patel have announced themselves in no uncertain way. But my vote goes to Ashwin, who is still the highest wicket taker, and the fifth highest run getter in this series.”

I would give it to Patel, for the romance and because he got in England’s head even more than Ashwin.

46th over: England 111-8 (Lawrence 30, Leach 0) Axar Patel now has 27 wickets at 10.07. This is up there with the greatest debut series of all time: Alderman, Hogg, Doshi, Headley, Gavaskar, Pietersen, Cork.

“Morning Rob,” says Henry Lubienski. “I hope they don’t burn Lawrence by batting him at three. Bell, Root, even KP had a start batting a bit further down. Trott was only one to start at three. When Stokes comes back then he, Crawley, Root, Pope, Lawrence & Sibley should be in the top six. What would speak against Stokes batting at three?”

I’m not totally sure about Stokes against the moving ball on a regular basis, and I think you’d be compromising a strength by doing that. The main strength of England’s batting is Root and Stokes; everyone else should fit around them. There’s no ideal solution, I agree with that.

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Another five-for for Axar Patel! Bess under-edges a slog sweep and is smartly taken by Rishabh Pant. Patel has taken four five-wickets hauls in his first three Tests.

45th over: England 111-7 (Lawrence 30, Bess 2) It should be a matter of time now. I still think three wins and three defeats represents a decent winter for England. The downside is that all the key performances have been from established players, so the team hasn’t really developed. That said, this is such a valuable education for the batsmen.

“I do think this series has made a good case for the value of Jos Buttler to this team,” says Phil Harrison. “Not only is he an increasingly reliable Test batter (he’d have launched at least one momentum-shifting counter-attack in the games he’s missed here) but I feel like Root captains better when Buttler’s alongside him. Hard to see a way for both him and Foakes to play but it would be nice.”

44th over: England 111-7 (Lawrence 30, Bess 2) Axar Patel is one wicket away from his fourth five-for. This is his third Test.

“Hi Rob,” says Darrien Bold. “I remember scoffing at suggestions a few months ago that Keaton Jennings would have “done a job” in the last two series as a decent player of spin, despite his modest record. Did England miss a trick there or is that a stretch? Did Pope’s excellence at short leg cost him a place in the squad?”

He might have done well in Sri Lanka, but I suspect India’s quicks would have sorted him out. I’m not sure about horses-for-courses batsmen, certainly not against a team with an attack as varied as India’s.

Ben Foakes goes in unusual circumstances. He edged Patel towards slip, where Rahane grabbed the ball just above the ground and then signalled to the square-leg umpire that he wasn’t sure whether it carried. When the umpires went upstairs to check we assumed it would be not out, but replays showed Rahane got his fingers under the ball as he swooped to his left. That’s a terrific catch.

43rd over: England 109-6 (Lawrence 30, Foakes 12) England are six away from their first fifty partnership since the first innings of the series.

42nd over: England 108-6 (Lawrence 30, Foakes 12) And now Patel has changed ends to replace Washington. His second ball spits nastily to beat Lawrence, who is rattled and goes for a big drive off the next delivery. It takes the edge and flies wide of Kohli at slip. Then Lawrence is beaten again by a jaffa. A quite brilliant over from Patel, whose decision to change ends looks a good one.

41st over: England 106-6 (Lawrence 28, Foakes 12) Ashwin has changed ends to replace Patel. Virat Kohli has rotated his three spinners a lot either side of tea, impatient for a seventh wicket. Nothing doing in that over.

40th over: England 104-6 (Lawrence 27, Foakes 11) Now Ashwin is hooked after two wicketless overs, with Washington replacing him. Foakes drives a single to bring up the hundred, the first of five in the over. These two are batting really well.

39th over: England 99-6 (Lawrence 25, Foakes 8) “I’d probably go Burns (though I would demand he has a haircut), Sibley, Crawley, Root, Lawrence, Pope, Foakes, Woakes/Curran, Leach, Archer/Wood/Stone, Anderson/Broad,” says Jeff Ando. “Although arguably we’re a bowler light against the Kiwis with no Stokes.”

That’s a good point, though Root is a passable fifth bowler I guess. It’s not ideal, but that New Zealand series could become a shootout for four top-six places (1, 2, 3, 6) in the return series against India. You can make a case for dropping any of the others (even Crawley, who I really like, has had a miserable run of scores this winter), but I’d be inclined to cut the younger players in particular a bit of slack. They all need runs next summer though.

38th over: England 98-6 (Lawrence 24, Foakes 8) India are rattling through the overs in about the time it takes me to read and edit an email. A maiden from Ashwin to Lawrence. These two have played well, with plenty of pride and common sense.

“Rollocks, Bob,” says Guy Perry, though he didn’t really say rollocks, or Bob. “Power cut’s ended in Kerala. Now watching the collapse, sound off, and blasting out Quadrophenia. We’re crap at cricket but sublime in angry 70s rock. Take that, India.”

37th over: England 98-6 (Lawrence 24, Foakes 8) Foakes is defending with determination and expertise, and is the subject of fulsome praise from Sunil Gavaskar. He has 8 from 34 balls, Lawrence 24 from 38.

“Your closing comments on the 29th over regarding Ricky Ponting,” begins Matt Dony. “Feels like they should have started with ‘Listen, guys’, and been delivered while sitting backwards on a chair.”

And then… (NB: clip contains adult language)

36th over: England 97-6 (Lawrence 23, Foakes 8) Washington Sundar is pulled out of the attack after two wicketless overs, with Ravichandran Ashwin replacing him. It’s a quiet over, just a single from it.

“Agree with Andy Moore pre-tea,” says Phil Harrison. “One of the things I look forward to least after this kind of series is the agonised post-mortem when the defeat that literally everyone predicted would happen, has happened. Basically, England win a series in India about once every 25 years. And it’s roughly the same the other way around too. Let’s not do the hand-wringing thing this time eh?”

To be fair, nobody does it better.

35th over: England 96-6 (Lawrence 22, Foakes 8) Patel ends another good over by turning one past Foakes’ outside edge.

“Morning Rob!!” says Simon McMahon. “The game was up yesterday when Rishabh Pant smashed his way to a hundred. He bats in technicolour, England monochrome. All of which leads me to note that the Pantone colour(s) of the year for 2021 are ‘Illuminating’, a bright yellow, and ‘Ultimate Gray’, a not so bright gray. ‘A marriage of colour conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting’. Bit like cricket, really. And Buckfast.”

34th over: England 95-6 (Lawrence 21, Foakes 7) Washington Sundar continues after tea. Lawrence, forcing to leg off the back foot, gets a leading edge that lands safely on the off side.

“Interesting to hear you think Lawrence should bat at No3 and that Crawley is more of an opener but could still do a job at 3,” says Jeff Ando. “What would your top order be for the next Test in that case? Do you think Lawrence has the technique to go at first drop and who from Burns/Sibley misses out with this plan? Also, what do you make of the Pope situation and the creeping accusations that England are ‘hiding’/overprotecting him? Lots to ponder it seems!”

The problem for Pope is that Nos 4 and 5 are taken, so he can’t move up the order one place at a time. He’ll be fine though. Lawrence at No3 isn’t ideal but I’d like to get him in the team and have a proper look before the Ashes. Assuming Stokes and Buttler are unavailable because of the IPL, my top order would probably be Crawley, Sibley, Lawrence, Root, Malan, Pope, Foakes. It’s not ideal, as England have a lot of 4s and 5s, and I’ll have changed my mind by teatime. How about you?

33rd over: England 91-6 (Lawrence 19, Foakes 6) Ashwin has changed ends to replace Patel. Lawrence continues his purposeful innings with a crisp cover drive for two, and then survives a big appeal for LBW. Ashwin was bowling round the wicket, so the umpire presumably thought it pitched outside leg. India go for the review. This is really close.

In fact, it’s not close at all. It pitched on the stumps but turned too much and would have missed leg stump.

That was the last ball before tea. Here’s a precis of the session:

F

F

S

(85 runs, six wickets, 30 overs)

32nd over: England 88-6 (Lawrence 17, Foakes 5) Washington Sundar comes on for a quick bowl before tea, replacing Ashwin. He must be full of the joys after that sparkling 96 not out earlier in the day - and he almost gets a wicket with his sixth ball. Lawrence swipes a full ball towards long leg, where it goes through the hands of the swooping fielder. It was a really good effort from whoever it was.

“Hope there is some perspective after this,” says Andy Moore. “Winning away especially in long series is rightly incredibly tough. You need a hugely strong side and a lot of luck. In 2012 England had Cook, KP, Trott, Bell, Swann, Monty, Jimmy. It was unreasonable to expect this side to achieve anything more than they have. If anything we underappreciate just how good that Strauss/Flower side was.”

I’d say 3-1 is better than par for England in this series, but it’s easy to forget then when you’ve been hammered in three consecutive games.

31st over: England 83-6 (Lawrence 13, Foakes 4) Four of England’s first five partnerships in this series reached fifty. Since then: 72 partnerships, no half-centuries. They haven’t been good enough - Pulitzer please - but it has been desperately difficult. I don’t think any team in the world could have coped.

“I’d like to add to Pete Salmon’s list,” says Deepak Puri. “Growing up, I thought blowdarts and cat burglars would feature more heavily in my adult life than they actually have.”

I read that as blowhards, which probably says something about my mental state.

30th over: England 78-6 (Lawrence 11, Foakes 1) Lawrence flashes hard at Ashwin, slicing the ball over slip for four. He looks in positive mood, as he was in the first innings. Might as well get the job done today.

“Good morning Rob, good morning everyone,” writes Em. “Were it not for the fact I’ve things to do today I’d mourn England’s collapse with the stack of Cobra I’ve got in my shed… mind you, have England been on the beers last night because they’re playing with a hangover?”

They’ve clearly got a hangover, but I’m pretty sure it’s from the second Test (and the third) rather than industrial quantities of Anxiety Suppressor.

29th over: England 74-6 (Lawrence 7, Foakes 1) Foakes defends solidly against Patel, who hurries through another maiden. Foakes has had a slightly disappointing series with the bat, though he has defended better than most. Yes, yes, I know.

“Hi Rob,” says Giles Page. “This mauling/dismantling/implosion/sh*%storm over the last three tests is too painful to watch & listen to but strangely engrossing via OBO. I am right in hankering for a return of Sir AN Cook? Oh how we could do with at least one decent opener. Hameed had a reasonable Bob Willis Trophy & can play well in India, or has that man no possible return to Test cricket? Surely it is possible to find some decent openers. Crawley is a No3.”

I think Crawley is an opener, although he’s fine at No3 too. I don’t think it’s going to happen for Hameed, though I would be unspeakably happy to be proved wrong. I’d say he needs a really strong county season – averaging 50+ - before he should be considered again. On this tour, it’s been increasingly desperate but I would be loath to draw too many conclusions about the batsmen. I doubt they will ever play in tougher conditions again, especially if they are all dropped forever rofl. In my day, there was a talented 26-year-old batsman who had a desperate series in India, making 0, 6, 0, 0 and 11. Things turned out okay for Ricky Ponting.

28th over: England 74-6 (Lawrence 7, Foakes 1) “Someone on Twitter recently mentioned that they when they were a child they genuinely thought that quicksand and boa constrictors would be major issues when they grew up, and were relieved to find they weren’t,” says Pete Salmon. “I can’t stop thinking about that as I watch England bat.”

27th over: England 72-6 (Lawrence 6, Foakes 0) Lawrence rocks back to cut Patel decisively for four. I like the cut of this lad’s jib, and would play him at No3 in England’s next Test.

26th over: England 67-6 (Lawrence 1, Foakes 0) My gut feeling is that Root did inside-edge that delivery from Ashwin, but the evidence was inconclusive so there’s no way the third umpire could have overturned the decision.

“ROB, hello,” says Guy Perry. “I’m in Kerala thanking various deities for the power cut in my village which means I can’t watch the England collapse. Much ribbing will be suffered in the tea shops later. What can a young boy do?”

Drink high-class tea with dignity and a warm smile?

STOP TWITTER

He’s gone!

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He was caught on the back foot by Ashwin, plumb in front, but he must feel he got an inside edge as he pushed defensively across the line. I’m not sure he did.

ROOT IS OUT LBW - BUT HE REVIEWS IMMEDIATELY

25th over: England 65-5 (Root 30, Lawrence 0) Axar Patel, in his debut series, has 24 wickets at 10.66.

“Good morning!” says Anand. “Few days ago, you helped me by sharing my poll about two-day Tests. The results are in. It seems that complaining about the pitch on social media (a hybrid choice) seems to pip actual cricket! The times we live in!”

Lot of good people on Twitter.

A brilliant stumping from Pant! Pope, unnerved by a jaffa the previous ball, came flying down the pitch and was beaten by a vicious delivery that turned and bounced. Pant, who was unsighted, took it near the top of the breastbone and reached forward to dislodge the bails.

24th over: England 64-4 (Root 29, Pope 15) A brutal delivery from Ashwin, bowling round the wicket to Pope, turns down the leg side for four byes. Pope then survives a muted LBW appeal after missing a reverse sweep and being hit on the arm. England are going down swinging.