In the fifth and final Test match of the series, India defeated England by an innings and 64 runs at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to field first. The decision appeared sound at the start of the first inning, but it quickly backfired as the side was bundled for only 218 runs. Opener Zak Crawley (79) was the most run-getter for the Englishmen, with Jonny Bairstow (29), Ben Duckett (27) and Joe Root getting a few runs as well.
With the ball, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin were top stories for India as they scalped a fifer and a four-fer, respectively. Ravindra Jadeja also picked a wicket.
In reply, Indian batters responded with a roar as all five top batters scored more than 50 runs each. Major contributions came from Rohit Sharma (103), Shubman Gill (110) and Devdutt Padikkal (65). Yashasvi Jaiswal (57) and Sarfaraz Khan (56) also continued their form and scored decent fifties. It was a team effort that led India to a massive score of 477/10.
Youngster Shoaib Bashir has surely become a top find for England in this series, as yet again he obtained a fifer. Two wickets each were also grabbed by James Anderson and Tom Hartley, while Stokes also took one wicket.
Trailing 259 runs, England lost their key players quite early on in the innings as the top three players got out for just 36 runs. Root (84) was the only batter to get to 50, while the likes of Bairstow (39), Hartley (20) and Ollie Pope (19) were the next best. The team got all out for 195 runs in less than 50 overs.
Once again with the ball, Ashwin struck a fifer, while Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav got two wickets each. Jadeja yet again grabbed a single wicket.
Kuldeep Yadav was adjudged Player of the Match for his exceptional bowling performance in both innings. Following this win, India have secured series win by 4-1.
Scorecard:
1st Innings
England: 218/10, Overs 57.4, Zak Crawley 79, Kuldeep Yadav 5/72
India: 477/10, Overs 124.1, Shubman Gill 110, Shoaib Bashir 5/173
2nd Innings
England: 195/10, Overs 48.1, Joe Root 84, Ravichandran Ashwin 5/77