Ravichandran Ashwin grabbed five wickets in his record 100th test as India defeated England by an innings and 64 runs in the fifth match to win the series 4-1. England’s James Anderson became only the third bowler to record 700 test wickets early in the day, but the tourists never got into the game.
After India scored 477, offspinner Ashwin returned figures of 5-77 to help bowl out England for 195 in three days at the scenic Dharamsala stadium, overlooking snowcapped Himalayan mountains. Ashwin rocked England’s top and middle orders after the tourists started their innings 259 runs behind and had lost five wickets for 103 runs before lunch.
Jonny Bairstow, also in his 100th test, attempted to take on the spinners, hitting Ashwin for three sixes before falling lbw to Kuldeep Yadav after a 31-ball 39. At the stroke of lunch, Ashwin bowled skipper Ben Stokes for two, defeating the great allrounder for the 13th time in tests.
Joe Root resisted with an 84 and was the final man out. Yadav dismissed him as India rejoiced and the players exchanged handshakes.
Ashwin finished the match with nine wickets, his 36th five-wicket haul in a career that began in 2011.
Skipper Rohit Sharma did not take the field owing to a “stiff back”, with fast bowler substitute Jasprit Bumrah in control and getting two wickets of his own.
Earlier, Anderson caught Yadav for 30 to become the first paceman and third overall to reach 700 wickets, trailing only Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and late Australian great Shane Warne (708). The 41-year-old lifted the ball up in front of the crowd, with teammates gathered around him and England fans standing to celebrate.
It brought an end to Yadav’s 49-run ninth-wicket overnight stand with Bumrah. Spinner Shoaib Bashir finished up the batting in the fifth over of the day, stumping Bumrah for 20, giving the 20-year-old his second five-wicket haul in his first series.
Rohit (103) and Shubman Gill (110) set up the massive victory on the second day with a 171-run second-wicket combination, putting the England bowlers on the back foot. England won the opener by 28 runs in Hyderabad with their offensive “Bazball” style of play, which was chastised by commentators in the next three losses when they suffered several batting failures.