England lost its last four wickets for just 13 runs in Monday's morning session to crash to an innings and 36-run defeat in the fourth test, giving India the series victory. India now lead the series 3-0 with one test to come, and has beaten England in a test series for the first time since 2008. Resuming on day five at 182-6, England needed some brave resistance from its tail to have any hope of forcing a draw, but folded meekly and was bowled out for 195.
Ravichandran Ashwin took 6-55 - his 24th five-wicket haul in test cricket - for match figures of 12-167; his 10th ten-wicket match-haul in 43 tests. It was India's fifth successive test series win, stretching back to Sri Lanka last year, followed by home series wins against South Africa and New Zealand and away to the West Indies.
"Out of the five that we've won, this is the best by far," captain Virat Kohli said. "Because of the quality of the opposition, and the kind of cricket that we've played, we're very proud of that. We know England are a quality test side. Even in this game after being 2-0 down, they put 400 runs in the first innings. This is not a team that will throw in the towel. They will fight, and we saw another example of it. We were tested but we came out on top. If you are a champion team, you have to play like a champion team to win series and that's what we did."
The collapse began in the third over of the morning when Ashwin trapped Jonny Bairstow (51) lbw. The batsman called for a review but the decision was upheld. Ashwin bowled Chris Woakes (0) and Adil Rashid (2) holed out to deep cover two overs later. Following that dismissal, heated words were exchanged between Ashwin and James Anderson (2) and umpire Marais Erasmus had to intervene.
Anderson was the last man out, caught at mid-on as Ashwin completed the rout in just over 30 minutes of play. It was a rapid decline for England after putting on 400 in its first innings. "At 230-2 we had an opportunity to go a bit bigger than that but 400 in those conditions was good and just above par," captain Alastair Cook said. "We missed three good chances to take wickets and they made us pay. That is credit to India. Most teams who score runs give chances at some stage and it is about a side being good enough to take them. Missing Kohli, missing Murali Vijay and Jayant Yadav cost us dearly."
Kohli was awarded the man of the match for his innings of 235; his 15th test hundred and third double century in 2016. The first test in Rajkot was drawn. India won the second test in Visakhapatnam by 246 runs, and the third test in Mohali by eight wickets. The fifth test in Chennai begins on December 16.
Earlier captain Kohli stamped his greatness at Wankhede stadium with a classy 235, while his partner Jayant Yadav, playing in just his third test became the first Indian batsman to score a test hundred coming in at the No 9 position. He then capped off a brilliant day by making a vital breakthrough for India by trapping Joe Root leg before to end a gallant counter-attack by the England batsman.
It was the perfect support act that India needed to back up the heroics of their superstar skipper, as India took a vice-like grip on the Test by stumps on Day Four. Resuming on 147, Virat Kohli rewarded the enthusiastic Sunday crowd when he slammed the first double hundred at the Wankhede since Vinod Kambli had put England to sword here with 224 in 1992-93.
It was the first time a batsman has hit three double hundreds in successive Test series. In fact, no Indian has hit so many double centuries in a single year. The 28-year-old's career-best knock (235, 340b, 25x4, 1x6) is possibly his finest at home too, besides being the highest individual score by an Indian captain. Kohli and Yadav's 241-run stand shattered not only the Indian record for the eighth wicket partnership, it broke England's spirit too. Thanks to the duo, India eventually finished at a massive 631, a total which tells you a story about how good India's batting was, and also about how poor England's spinners were on a turning wicket.
Left to climb a mountain of a 231-run deficit on a wicket where Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have made the ball spin like a top, the visitors began on the worst note possible. They lost first innings centurion Keaton Jennings for a `golden duck,' as Bhuvneshwar Kumar trapped him in front of the stumps with an incoming delivery.
When England skipper Alastair Cook was out leg before to Jadeja for the third time in the series (fourth overall), and Moeen Ali perished to a brilliant catch by Murali Vijay at leg slip, it looked like England wouldn't last the distance. However, a laudable rescue act by Root (77, 112b, 11x4) and his 92-run stand for the fourth wicket with Johny Bairstow (50 batting) meant India would have to wait for the night to celebrate.
