India hammered Ben Stokes' England by an innings and 64 runs in the fifth and final Test which ended inside three days in Dharamsala on March 9. This emphatic victory secured a dominant series win for India with a 4-1 margin. Ashwin's performance was particularly memorable in his 100th Test match, as he captured five wickets in England's second innings, building on his four-wicket performance in the first innings. England's batters faltered again, posting scores of 218 and 195 in their two innings, while replying to India's colossal 477.
The match also featured standout performances from Indian openers Rohit Sharma (103) and Shubman Gill (110), who each scored centuries. Additional significant contributions came from Devdutt Padikkal (65), Yashasvi Jaiswal (57), and Sarfaraz Khan (56), who all reached the half-century mark.
Despite England's lackluster showing, James Anderson achieved a personal milestone by capturing his 700th Test wicket during the game.
We have been outplayed by the better team: Stokes
Meanwhile, Stokes conceded England's defeat and admitted that his team was completely outplayed by India, who were the better side in the Test series.
“We have been outplayed by the better team of the series. We got so much cricket coming up, so looking forward to it. When you look at the series as a whole, in those small moments we haven't been able to keep it going. We all know as individuals as to where it all went wrong. When India got on top with the ball a lot of men come around the bat and you got to find ways to keep those guys out of play and you need to be positive enough to take those risks and sometimes it could lead to downfall,” Stokes said in the post-match presentation.
“Crawley and Duckett continuing their partnership at the top and Bashir and Hartley have been really exceptional the whole series and Root coming into form at the backend is really exciting ahead of our summer. Amazing to be on the field with Jimmy. 700 wickets for a seamer is quite phenomenal, from the day he first started being a cricketer to where he is now, the desire and commitment is still there and he is the fittest cricketer I have ever seen,” Stokes added.
India firm and strong on top of WTC points table
This victory not only solidified India's top position in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 points but also significantly dashed England's hopes of reaching the WTC finals. Before the Dharamshala Test against England, India boasted a win percentage of 64 across eight matches, including five victories. Following this triumph, India's win percentage has surged to 68.51. In contrast, second-place New Zealand has a win percentage of 60, while Australia sits in third place with a win percentage of 59.09 after seven wins in 11 matches. Bangladesh and Pakistan follow with win percentages of 50 and 36.66, respectively. England, with just three wins and six losses in 10 matches, occupies the eighth spot among nine teams with a win percentage of only 17.50.
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