While defeat in Ranchi condemned England to a third-successive Test series defeat in India, Ben Stokes‘ side should not be too disappointed.
Last week’s defeat in Rajkot was chastening – a real thumping that I analysed at the time – but overall this series has not been a thrashing like the two that preceded it.
England have got closer to India.
They made India think by battling admirably again on day four, especially considering their spinners came into this series with minimal expectation to perform given their inexperience.
Yes, they have lost a series for the first time during Stokes‘ captaincy tenure and have squandered opportunities, but in Shoaib Bashir they have a 20-year-old off-spinner who looks the real deal.
Playing in just his second Test, Bashir – previously released by Surrey and with only six first-class matches under his belt before this call-up – took 3-79 in India’s second innings, to go with his maiden five-wicket haul in the first.
On day two he showed his stamina and ability to continue to spin the ball hard through a marathon 31-over spell. That was impressive enough.
But bowling in the fourth innings with your side defending a small target is a highly pressurised situation.
Every run hurts and you see the number of runs required ticking down on the scoreboard. It can force you to search for wickets and actually deliver more poor balls.
Despite only making his first-class debut last year, Bashir did not do any of that.
He has a nice, high action – one that can’t really go wrong – and is accurate.
Stokes has spoken about first spotting him on social media in a clip of his performance for Somerset in the County Championship. Whoever is responsible for plucking him out deserves a lot of credit because Bashir looks a very promising young spinner.
I was also impressed by the attitude I saw from England’s players on the fourth day.
They were on the back of a 434-run defeat but at the end I didn’t see heads dropping. They kept going and had smiles on faces even when losing.
People might think it doesn’t matter but it shows a very healthy spirit in that dressing room.
Ultimately the Test was lost in the third innings when England were bowled out for 145.
Like in Rajkot they got their noses in front but could not take advantage.
In the previous Test it was because of their ultra-aggressive approach. That was not to blame this time, but it was another key moment that England failed to take advantage of.
India impress without Kohli, Pant & Bumrah
On day four, with India five wickets down needing 72 more runs, the match was in the balance again but Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel responded by batting calmly and serenely. They did not play desperate shots and strolled over the line.
That is the way you need to play in India. You need to play a canny game and India have done so throughout.
They did not need to take the gamble they did in preparing such a difficult batting pitch – a surface which, in the end, stayed on the right side of the line in terms of what is suitable for Test cricket and produced an entertaining encounter – and on it lost what looked a crucial toss.
Still they managed to come back and win.
That showed their resilience and what should please India fans most is that, despite all of the power of the Indian Premier League, two players who have developed on a diet of so much T20 cricket in Gill and Jurel knuckled down to get India over the line.
Them winning the series, given the players they are missing, is a fine effort. It highlights their incredible depth.
The hosts have been without Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Shami for the entirety while KL Rahul has been injured since the series opener and Jasprit Bumrah was rested here. Even Ravichandran Ashwin had to miss more than a day of play in the third Test for personal reasons.
All of the talk in India is about the superstar Pant but in Jurel they look to have found a fine wicketkeeper.
In his second Test, he was terrific with the gloves and looked an excellent batsman.
Sarfaraz Khan is another. He may have got a first-baller to Bashir in the second innings but has a lot of shots.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, of course, looks a sensational player with his two double centuries and 655 runs in total in the series.
It will be interesting to see how he fares overseas when the ball moves around but he is very exciting – a modern Test player.
England have performed better than we might have hoped but India need to be given a lot of credit for the way they have covered the losses of key players.
As it stands, 3-1 is a very fair scoreline on the play we have seen.
The final Test in Dharamsala could swing how we remember the series.