India vs England: Hosts need only 32 minutes to wrap up series victory in fourth Test

India 631, England 400 & 195: The visitors are now 3-0 down with one Test to go after defeat by an innings and 36 runs

England posted 400 in their first innings but still lost (Philip Brown)

England’s series hopes are over after India wrapped up victory in this fourth Test within 32 minutes of the final day.

The tourists are now 3-0 down with one Test to go following this defeat by an innings and 36 runs as India finally gained revenge for three successive series losses at the hands of Alastair Cook’s side.

Indeed, Cook’s captaincy will now be under the microscope more than ever after this defeat followed the heavy losses at Mohali and Visakhapatnam in the previous two Tests.

England are seemingly going backwards, although it should be noted no side since Cook’s men won the series here in 2012 have tasted victory in a single Test in India since.

Ravichandran Ashwin was the architect of this latest loss for England, taking all four wickets on the fifth morning to take his tally for the match to 12.

The off-spinner now has 71 Test wickets this calendar year. On turning surfaces such as this in Mumbai he is almost unplayable.

England, rolled out for 195, are now only the third team in Test history to have lost by an innings after posting 400 or more in their first innings.

This was a defeat served up with a dash of bile as well, India taking the opportunity to rub salt into the wounds as James Anderson, the leader of England’s attack, was on the receiving end of some on-field verbals after his comments yesterday evening.

Anderson, asked about Virat Kohli’s match-defining 235 here, claimed India’s captain had “technical weaknesses” that were not shown up on slow Indian pitches.

Kohli averaged just 13.40 in England two years ago. He has 640 runs in this series, though, and Ashwin and Kohli made sure they made their displeasure was known as Anderson walked out to the middle today as England’s last batsman and with his side on the verge of defeat.

Indeed, it was all rather unseemly and so ugly the umpires were forced to step in.

Alastair Cook leaves the crease after being dismissed during the fourth day of the fourth cricket test match at the Wankhede stadium (Philip Brown)

For England, though, India’s ungracious manner of victory will hurt less than the cold fact that this series is now lost.

Despite fighting talk from Anderson on the fourth evening, this time the 34-year-old claiming his team could still win the match, India turned up this morning knowing victory was an inevitable.

England, on 182 for six and still 49 runs short of even making their opponents bat again, had been thankful to a battling half-century from Jonny Bairstow, the wicketkeeper’s 14th in Tests.

Bairstow had ridden his luck the previous evening, dropped twice and using two reviews to save himself.

Ravichandran Ashwin took all four wickets on the fifth morning (Reuters)

But there was nothing he could do about the delivery from Ashwin that caused his downfall in the second over of the day.

The India off-spinner’s variation on the carrom ball is called the Sudokku and it certainly puzzled Bairstow as he was trapped lbw by it to the 12th delivery of the day.

The 27-year-old used up another review in an attempt to survive but it was a case of third time unlucky this time as DRS showed the ball crashing into off stump.

With Jos Buttler England’s last recognised batsman, India knew they were within touching distance of wrapping up the series.

Chris Woakes was the next to go in the fourth over of the day, bowled by a sharply-turning Ashwin delivery. He had lasted just six balls for his duck.

Jos Buttler in action for the visitors (Reuters)

Adil Rashid, the next man in, at least scored two runs before he too was snared by Ashwin, flicking the spinner to midwicket to hand him his 24th five-wicket haul in Tests and second of this match.

At 193 for nine, England were on the edge of a huge defeat and India knew it. Anderson was next to the crease and was subject to some words from Ashwin and Kohli as the denouement to this match turned ugly.

Anderson also lasted just six balls, sending another carrom ball to mid-on to spark India’s celebrations.

England will now head to Chennai ahead of the final Test starting on Friday. It will be hard for the tourists to pick themselves up with the series now gone.