England succumb to spin once more as Axar and Ashwin put finishing touches to series win... INDIA V ENGLAND TALKING POINTS

NICK FRIEND looks back on the third and final day of the fourth Test between India and England

India v England: Scorecard

Axar and Ashwin leave England batsmen in interminable spin

Perhaps it was fitting that it should end this way, with England bundled out by India’s spinners who have wreaked such havoc over the past three weeks.

Ravichandran Ashwin ends with series figures of 32 for 471.

Axar Patel, in his first-ever series as a Test cricketer, emerged with 27wickets at 10.59 apiece. The cloning of Ravindra Jadeja has gone even better than could possibly have been dreamt up.

Between the pair, Ashwin and Axis shared 59 scalps at an average of 12.8.

The heady days of Shahbaz Nadeem, when England milked India’s third-choice left-arm spinner seemingly at will, feel like they belong in a different contest entirely.

Because since then, when the tourists upset the apple cart with one of the great overseas wins by an England team, only six wickets have fallen to India’s seamers.

There is not much more to write about the Ashwin-Axar axis that has not already been written, other than to say that England simply never got to grips with how to score against them and how to survive.

It was a treat to watch, however. Ashwin is a magician. While Muttiah Muralitharan remains the greatest off-spinner the game has seen, has there been a traditional finger-spinner this century as skilful?

^{Axar Patel took another five-wicket haul}

By the time the curtain came down, every England batsman was carrying baggage of some description; even Zak Crawley, dismissed by left-arm spin in each of his seven previous innings of the winter, fell to Ashwin to bookend a first tour of Asia that began with the challenge of Lasith Embuldeniya.

The last rites perhaps best summed up how England’s batting has subsided since Chennai: Dom Sibley swept a ball into the shin of short leg and was caught via a rebound, Jonny Bairstow – for his sixth duck in nine innings against India – worked his first ball straight into the hands of leg slip, who also accounted for Ben Stokes’ attempted paddle sweep.

Root and Ollie Pope added 35 for the fifth wicket – England’s sixth-highest partnership in two Tests in Ahmedabad, before Pope was brilliantly stumped by Rishabh Pant and Root trapped in front by a straight delivery from Ashwin. All this before tea, little under a month since England were accused of setting up a victory too slowly. How quickly things can change.

Unsung Sundar left high and dry

Every double-act is a partnership. So, just as Batman needed Robin, Pant needed Washington Sundar in the counterattack that ultimately broke England’s spirit.

They will wonder how things might have transpired if a marginal lbw decision had gone in their favour before Pant had left first gear. In truth, given the fragility of their batting – Root’s side reached 205 just once in three games after winning in Chennai – it would likely have made little difference, even if they had taken a slender lead into the second half of this game.

From early on in his innings, Sundar’s knock was reminiscent of Jayant Yadav, who made his first – and only – Test century against England in similar circumstances in 2016: batting down the order in the fourth match of the series, with the visitors knackered and the bowlers powerless to prevent the inevitable.

Sundar is a far better player than Yadav, however, and one suspects he’ll be around significantly longer in international cricket. And so, other opportunities for a maiden ton will surely come his way, having been denied this time only by four runs and a shortage of partners.

^{Dan Lawrence offered England a glimmer of positivity on a difficult day}

A ray of sunshine?

Dan Lawrence is one of many England players to have found himself muddled this winter by the impact of injuries and the much-discussed rotation policy. Having impressed on debut in Sri Lanka at No.5, he appeared to wilt thereafter, adding 58 runs in his next six innings.

Not that he was helped along the way, mind. When Crawley slipped and injured his wrist, he was shunted up to No.3, an alien position at county level, let alone in the international game. There, Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma exploited his front pad and he resembled a rabbit in the headlights at times.

But recalled to add depth to England’s faltering batting in this final Test, he displayed a fluency against spin that only Root has shown on a consistent basis. Against Ashwin, who dismissed him twice earlier in the series, his footwork was sprightly and his mindset proactive. He used the extent of his tall frame to lunge well forward and push himself back when necessary, all in reaching a fine half century full of defiance.

That might all sound straightforward but executing those plans has been a different matter. England didn’t manage a 50-run partnership after the first innings of the first Test in Chennai.

Our coverage of India vs England is brought to you in association with Dafabet India. For more on Dafabet and to place a bet, click here

Subscribe to The Cricketer for exclusive content every day: The inside track on England's Test tour with George Dobell in Pakistan, award-winning analysis, breaking news and interviews and the only place for in-depth county coverage all year round. Plus: An ad-free app experience at your fingertips. Subscribe to thecricketer.com today for just £1.