Axar, Ashwin take five-fors as India book WTC final

India take on New Zealand WTC final in June

India 365 (Pant 101, Sundar 96, Stokes 4-89, Anderson 3-44) beat England 205 (Stokes 55, Patel 4-68, Ashwin 3-47) and 135 (Lawrence 50, Ashwin 5-47, Patel 5-48) by an innings and 25 runs

Ahmedabad: Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel took five wickets each on Saturday as India crushed England inside three days of the fourth Test to seal their series 3-1.

Ashwin bowled Dan Lawrence for 50 as England were bowled out for 135 to complete an emphatic innings and 25 run victory in Ahmedabad.

Virat Kohli's India bounced back from an opening defeat to win three in a row and book their meeting with New Zealand in the World Test Championship at Lord's in June.

It was another failure for Joe Root's England, who suffered a drubbing after their two-day loss in the third Test of a series dominated by the spinning wickets.

Ashwin led the series bowling chart with 32 wickets followed by Patel, who played one game fewer, on 27. England spinner Jack Leach was third with 18 scalps.

This win was set up by wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who made 101 on day two, and Washington Sundar, who hit an unbeaten 96 as India made a commanding 365.

Pant scored his third Test ton in a 113-run stand with Sundar to lift India from a precarious 146-6 in response to England's first innings total of 205.

Sundar kept up the attack as the final three wickets fell on Saturday morning but ran out of partners and remained four shy of his century.

England lost early and regular wickets to go down tamely in 54.5 overs.

Ollie Pope and Root then put up something of a brief resistance, putting on 35 runs for the fifth wicket, but the stand was broken when Pope’s attempts to attack the spinners failed. He came down the track to Axar, but was flummoxed by one that zipped off the surface, leaving him stranded down the track as Pant clipped the bails with lightning hands.

When Ashwin then trapped Root in front with a straight one, England’s had little hope but to salvage pride.

Lawrence made a brave attempt in the final session, impressively defying the spinners and bringing up his second Test half-century.

However, India wrapped things up halfway through the final session, with both Axar and Ashwin take five-wicket hauls.

Lawrence’s was the last wicket to fall, cleaned up by Ashwin, and India will be on the plane to the ICC World Test Championship final.