Despite facing an early onslaught in Rajkot, England leads 2-1 with their composed performance.
The India home Test ended in a familiar fashion, with a hefty winning margin in sight and R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja fighting over the final wicket.
Ashwin has the most Test-match-ending wickets in history, with 23, one more than Shane Warne in second place. However, on this occasion, Jadeja won, completing his 13th five-wicket haul as India sealed victory by a record 434 runs.
This was a typical finish, but India rarely achieved it in such a manner. On the first morning, they were 33 for 3 but recovered to post 445. England replied by rocketing to 207 for 2 in 35 overs by stumps on day two. Later that night, Ashwin, the most experienced member of the Indian team, left Rajkot for personal reasons. That left just four bowlers for the remainder of England's innings.
India played some of their best cricket from then until the accelerated finish in the final moments of the fourth day when England collapsed to 122 all out. Although it can be considered a comeback win, it does not follow the typical narrative of a comeback where a team changes its style of play to counter and overcome a dominant opposition.
Instead, it was a victory achieved through persistent belief in Plan A, even when it may not have appeared to be working. Plan A had not seemed effective in the first Test in Hyderabad, where England managed a remarkable come-from-behind win. Although it brought India a victory in Visakhapatnam, it appeared - at least to the spectator - that the outcome could have been different if not for Jasprit Bumrah's excellent display of fast bowling. At the end of day two in Rajkot, other teams may have considered changing their strategy when Plan A led India to their current position.
India, however, did not deviate from their overall approach to the game. While they made minor tactical adjustments, such as any bowling group would, their primary focus remained consistent: consistently bowl on a good length and aim to hit the stumps as often as possible. They had faith in these methods and believed that their bowling group was of such high quality that these methods would eventually yield rewards.
Ben Duckett hit 23 fours and two sixes in a 151-ball 153 in Rajkot. But India was judged on the quality of their bowling and their ability to force the batsmen to take risks to score runs.
Rohit stated at the post-match press conference:
"Yeah, look, they actually played shots off really good balls. Even the first Test match where [Ollie] Pope got that [196], he was very much in control and played shots off some really good balls, and when the batter is doing that, obviously the plan is to keep it very simple, nice and tight, follow the plans that have been discussed."
India's persistence paid off when Kuldeep Yadav bowled 12 incisive overs of wristspin on the third morning. This laid the groundwork for Mohammed Siraj to burst through England's lower order with an irresistible spell of reverse-swing. The relentless efforts of Bumrah and Jadeja also helped India claim a 126-run lead. Yashasvi Jaiswal's second successive Test double-century and half-centuries from Shubman Gill and Sarfaraz Khan saw India's total rise to 556. India declared 50 minutes before tea on the fourth day.
Rohit also mentioned that there were several turning points in the match. Rohit acknowledged the importance of winning the toss in India and putting runs on the board. He stated that the lead they got was crucial for their success. It was important for the India team to remain calm after the English batters' onslaught. The bowlers demonstrated a lot of character, especially considering that India's most experienced bowler was absent.
Rohit was referring to one of the more inexperienced combinations India has used in a home Test in recent times.
Kuldeep made his Test debut in 2017 and was playing his 10th Test match. Jaiswal was playing his seventh Test match. Sarfaraz and wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel were on debut, while Rajat Patidar was playing only his second Test match. Gill, who has played 23 Tests, is still new to the No. 3 role that was occupied by Cheteshwar Pujara for most of the last decade.
India have been without Virat Kohli (113 Tests) and Mohammed Shami (64) throughout this series, while KL Rahul (50) has featured in only one Test. Jadeja, who scored 70 runs, was absent from the second Test in Visakhapatnam. Ashwin, who scored 98 runs, only bowled 13 overs across the two innings in Rajkot.