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Live Report: India vs England, 5th Test, Dharamsala - Ashwin takes five, India win
By Andrew MillerIndia win 4-1
That scoreline is devastatingly one-sided but at one point, right at the mid-point, England were about to tip the scales. They went to stumps at the end of day two in Rajkot 207 for 2 after only 35 overs. India's total of 445 seemed well within reach. Peak Bazball had arrived. Yet, when fronting up to the press after being hit round the park, R Ashwin, the 100-Test veteran who had seen it all and done it all, came out and said everything is fine. And so it was.
India won that game by 434 runs.
It's probably too simplistic to draw a line from there to here, especially in a series that has ebbed and flowed so dramatically, with most of its star attractions missing. Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami, who might well walk into any all-time India Test team, played no part here. For England, a man that they hope to build their future around - Harry Brook - had to withdraw due to personal reasons. Tom Hartley began by being hit for six and looking like cannon fodder. Four days later, he was spinning India into the Hyderabad dirt.
One moment did not bring us here. There was at least one more. Lets go back to Ranchi.
With the series 2-1, England had another big chance, when they were 176 runs ahead, with only two Indian wickets standing in the first innings. But the back-up to the back-up of India's first-choice wicketkeeper decided to stand up and show what he had. Dhruv Jurel, in his second Test match, battling a rising tide, made 90. With him for support was Kuldeep Yadav, who has been sensational, that day with bat, and all through with ball. He had to settle for the odd Test here and there but now he has made it very very difficult for anybody to drop him.
This is why India are so hard to beat at home. They out-skill opponents. They out-last opponents. They don't panic. They trust in their process. And when none of that works, they just throw the ball to their once-in-a-lifetime fast bowling genius. Oh, and if this series has shown anything, its that even those on the fringes of their Test team have inculcated those attributes. Yashasvi Jaiswal, for example, very nearly overtook Sunil Gavaskar's legendary tally of 774 - the highest by an Indian batter in a single Test series. Shubman Gill, back when he was in the middle of a lean run, was the most conscientious netter. At times, it felt like he'd want to stay there 24x7 until he'd fixed whatever was bothering him. India will savour this. They will really savour this.