IND VS ENG - 4th Test, England tour of India, 2021

Eternal glory awaits: Test Championship final, and now ranked No. 1 in the world, India have prevailed in a virtual semi-final of sorts and forced their way into a Lord's final (venue subject to COVID-related changes). No matter, they know better than to take the Kiwis lightly. India and New Zealand have ghosts to bury in England and it's set to be a poetic end to a two-year Test championship that has endured organisational turbulence and a pandemic, but has seen some breathtaking cricket, including Headingley 2019, Mount Maunganui 2020, Brisbane 2021 and so many more. All of that culminates at Lord's, come June 18, 2021. It's been a pleasure, as I, Rishi Roy, wrap up the coverage of this series alongside Ramakrishnan MS, Kumar Abhisekh Das, and Venky. Here's to a script that tops Lord's 2019. Get cracking, God. Because after 2020, you owe us one. *Curtains Down*

India, at last, at long last, have made it to the final of the World Test Championship, and will face New Zealand in the final. Mind you though, the last time that happened in an ICC event in England, India suffered agonising heartbreak over two days. Little did New Zealand know, that India's grief would double up on them at Lord's four days on...

There we have it: England had two options when this Test began - win the game and spoil India's party, lose/draw the game to spoil their arch-nemeses, Australia's party. And they've eventually managed the latter - though not for lack of trying. There's been a lot of furore about the pitches on offer, and the batting (particularly by the top-order) has been below par. However, given the conditions, however extreme, India have come out the better side. Their spinners, in particular, were head and shoulders above their English counterparts, which eventually made the difference...

Led by Siraj and Axar Patel, India pick up the Trophy and do a little lap of the stadium to acknowledge the sparse crowd who have come in to support the home team. It does look like social distancing has gone out of the window in the crowd, but it's certainly a historic moment in Indian Test history, this time with the context of the World Test Championship final...

Virat Kohli | India captain: The comeback in Chennai pleased me the most. The first game was an aberration and England outplayed us. The toss played a crucial role and the bowlers weren't in the contest. We bowled and fielded with more intensity and so the comeback was very heartening. Our bench strength is extremely strong and that's a good sign for Indian cricket. When the transition happens, the standards won't fall and Rishabh and Washy's partnership showed exactly that in a crucial juncture of the match. We had to pick up our body language after the first game in Chennai. Every team in international cricket is a quality side and we need to work hard to beat them, even at home. Rohit's batting was incredible. His 150 on that pitch was equivalent to 250 on a true wicket. Keeping that intensity going is most important and is the hallmark of our team. Rohit's knock was the defining moment in Chennai, and Ashwin has been our most bankable player over the years so they have been our best players this series. Now we can accept that the WTC final, which was a distraction in New Zealand in 2020, but now it's a reality.

Ravichandran Ashwin | Man of the Series (his 8th such award): The fact that we qualified for the WTC final is very important. Beating Australia in Australia has to be the pinnacle, but with the context - being in the WTC final is not a joke - this means a lot to us. WTC final is as good as WC final. The intensity was low in the first Test in Chennai, despite the high in Australia. Every time there was a challenging time in the series, someone put their hand up, so this series win was right up there. The last four months have been quite a ride. I didn't think I'd make a hundred in Chennai, I went with the flow because my form with the bat wasn't great. I didn't think I'd start in the XI in Australia, but after all the injuries, especially to Jadeja, there was more responsibility on me and I'm content with my performances in Australia and here. Being desperate is bad, being content is bad, but it's important for me to be happy, and I've stayed on my feet, and worked out batsmen and I'm happy it has worked out well for me. If you put a board on what Rishabh has gone through in the last year, I am extremely happy to see him succeed. It's been a little unfair being compared to legends, and the way he's come out of it and kept in this series has been excellent. Axar is someone who came into replace Jaddu. He deserved all the praise and he was very accurate for someone playing his first series.

Rishabh Pant | Man of the Match (101 off 118): I think the drills have helped, and my confidence has helped, transferring it from my batting to my keeping. This was a very important innings, especially with the team under pressure. We were in a tough situation at 146-6, and there's nothing better than performing when the team needs you the most. If I get the chance to reverse-flick a fast bowler again, I definitely would.

Joe Root | England captain: The first game was a positive. We haven't matched India in the last three, and we need to keep learning and keep getting better for this experience and this series, and we need to keep evolving and move forward. There are some key areas where India grabbed the game and we didn't. Washington and Rishabh played extremely well at a time when we had a good hold on the game. We also didn't score runs the way we would have liked, and India outplayed us. Best of luck to them in the final. These were the first two Tests here, and I'm sure there are going to be some great Tests here later, and there was no history here, but hopefully we can get better in future in these conditions. It's really important that we have to look after our players in terms of resting them, and we can't keep playing them until they fall over. We need to look after them and rotate them as necessary. It's been a good series, enjoyed the hospitality and loved being here for the series.

Ravi Shastri | Head coach: It's a great feeling to win the series. It's satisfying to see the youngsters perform in tough situations. The way Pant and Washi played... pressure was on us but from there to get to 360 was incredible. The boys just took one series at a time. Never thought of the Test championship. Things got changed when we were top of the table and when we were not playing. The first Test in Chennai could have been different with a bit more rest. Boys were like zombies, they were tired and there was no crowd to cheer them on. Who will complain about tracks like these. The groundsmen have done a fantastic job. The scoreline of 3-1 doesn't reflect how close the series was. It's like our series in England we lost 1-4. England had their moments and if they grabbed those we could have had a different result. Six months in the bubble, seeing the same faces... The bubble will burst (smiles). It's tough for professional players when you are not doing well.. it's really tough being in the bubble. It was a team work, not one individual calling the shots. We've given opportunities for youngsters and they have grabbed those and delivered. They have been in a corner but they have fought from there. This side refuses to give up. We were irrepressible in Australia and we are the same here too. The support staff have put in hours and hours of work to get the best out of the boys and more importantly to have them in the right frame of mind, Our main thing was to show empathy to the players because these are tough times. Pant has been simply magnificent. We were hard on him. Nothing comes easy. He was told in no uncertain terms that he has got to respect the game a little more. He's got to lose a bit of weight and work hard on his keeping. We know the talent he has and he has responded. He has worked like hell for the last few months and the results are here to see. Yesterday's innings was the best counterattacking innings I have seen in India. It was a two phase innings. He built a partnership with Rohit playing against his nature - to do that is not easy - and to turn it on after 50. Keeping has been magnificent and Washi was outstanding too.

Axar Patel: I think the confidence helped me. I got wickets in the first game and kept on carrying the confidence. When me and Washi were batting, we thought the pace variation wasn't there. I only bowled faster ones more often in the previous games but here we needed to vary our pace. When I got back after being run-out, I didn't have enough time to talk to Washi as we were bowled out. 

Washington Sundar: To win my first series at home is amazing, feels great. Not at all disappointed to miss the hundred. The 100 will come when it's the right time for me. I am happy to contribute to the team. To be honest, the pitch was very good to bat on. Credit to Anderson, Stokes for getting assistance on this surface, they bowled really well. The wicket is still good to bat on. If you apply yourself you can score.

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The fourth Test: And now this - an English side capitulating on a track that was nowhere close to a rank-turner, a poor show by the Indian top-order (an area that is a bit of a worry at the moment), barring Rohit (easily India's best batsman this series). Nevertheless a pivotal rescue effort from Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar decisively turned the game in India's favour to hand them a commanding 160-run lead. All of that before Ashwin and Axar did their thing one more time, for good measure, and evenly split the spoils in the second innings. Only Root and Lawrence offered some resistance, but overall, it did look like England were absolutely drained and scarred, to the extent that they were seeing things - such as straight balls turning. Interviews and presentations coming up in a moment...

15:54 Local Time: And that brings to an end the most extraordinary series - a tag that would've been difficult to live up to after India's tour of Australia - the stuff of (outlandish pipe-) dreams. Several questions were raised on India's home dominance after what turned out to be an aberration in the first Test in Chennai. Since then, however, India have hardly put a foot wrong. A commanding win in the second Test in Chennai, courtesy Ashwin and Rohit, a pink-ball Test on 2x fast forward in Ahmedabad...

India winning a series after being 0-1 down
2-1(5) vs Eng 1972/73
2-1(3) vs Aus 2000/01
2-1(3) vs SL 2015
2-1(4) vs Aus 2016/17
2-1(4) vs Aus 2020/21
3-1(4) vs Eng 2020/21

Ashwin to Daniel Lawrence, out Bowled! India 3-1 England, and India seal their spot in the World Test Championship final. The ball - one that rushes onto the stumps, Daniel Lawrence's grit finally gives in as he swipes across the line to have those bails clipped - no umpire's call on bowled, remember? And that's the end of a long, sapping Test series that the home side have bossed after a dispiriting loss in the first Test. Amidst all of that - Ravichandran Ashwin gets his 30th five-wicket haul in Tests - a man whose very existence is surreal in its nature. As for the bigger picture: World Test Championship final: India vs. New Zealand (confirmed), June 18-22 2021 (tentative), Lord's (tentative) - the final nail is in. Daniel Lawrence b Ashwin 50(95) [4s-6]

Ashwin to Daniel Lawrence, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!

Ashwin to Daniel Lawrence, no run, sliding down the leg-side, and that's another fine take by Pant as Daniel Lawrence lets this pass...

Ashwin to Anderson, 1 run, gets across and turns this away towards short midwicket for a single

James Anderson, left handed bat, comes to the crease