On this day in 2021: India beat England to seal 3-1 Test series win

After a mammoth 227-run win over India in the series opener at Chepauk, England lost their way and ended up conceding the next two matches, with the pink-ball Test match in Ahmedabad’s newly renovated Narendra Modi Stadium ending inside two days.

Trailing by 2-1 and with the series on the line, the Joe Root-led side faced Virat Kohli & Co. in the all-important fourth Test at the same venue where they tasted bitter defeat to lose the series from a position of strength by a 3-1 margin on this very day in 2021.

India sealed the ICC World Test Championship final berth

The coin once again landed in the favour of the visitors, and they decided to bat first. However, losing wickets at regular intervals did not do any good to their cause, and England was bowled out for just 205 in their first innings, riding on 55 and 46 from the middle-order duo of Ben Stokes and Daniel Lawrence, respectively. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who was adjudged the Man of the Match for 11 scalps in both innings of the previous game, was yet again the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of 4/68.

India, in their first innings, scored 365 courtesy of a brilliant 101 from wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant and an unbeaten 96 from spin bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar. The hosts enjoyed a massive lead of 160 runs. England, in their second innings, had a lot of work to do as they not only had to reduce their innings deficit but also set a challenging target for the Indian team.

Unfortunately, the visitors failed miserably in doing so as their batters failed to show any application on the 22 yards that had been bothering them throughout the series. Only skipper Root (30) and Lawrence (50) showed some resistance to delay the inevitable as England was skittled out cheaply for 135.

India registered a comprehensive win by an innings and 25 runs, and by virtue of this win, they also confirmed an ICC World Test Championship final berth against New Zealand.