LONDON, Sept 11: India lost the fifth and final Test against England by 118 runs here on Tuesday despite heroic resistance from KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, bringing the curtains down on a tour which started as a golden opportunity but ended in a saga of disappointments.
A mediocre England team with a fragile batting line-up won the series by a comprehensive 4-1 margin after India were bowled out for 345 in pursuit of mammoth target of 464.
Making amends for a below-par show in the preceding Tests, Rahul (149 off 224 balls) and Pant (114 off 146 balls) sang the redemption song with attractive centuries to raise visions of an improbable victory before Adil Rashid (2/63 in 15 overs) dashed their hopes with a twin blow.
Rashid bowled a prodigious legbreak that pitched on the rough and clipped Rahul�s off-bail and in his next over Pant tried to hoick him for his fifth six only to be holed out by Moeen Ali.
Once the 204-run sixth wicket stand ended, India tried to hang on for a respectable draw but it was of no avail.
Root took the second new ball and his new �Go To� Man Sam Curran (2/23 in 9 overs) promptly delivered by polishing off the tail with Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja being removed in quick succession.
Fittingly, it was England�s seniormost bowler Jimmy Anderson (3/45 in 22.3 overs), who castled Mohammed Shami to end the match and also surpass Glenn McGrath as the highest wicket-taking pacer in Test match history.
It couldn�t have been a more emotional farewell for Alastair Cook as he led the team off the ground amidst a thunderous standing ovation from a knowledgable Oval crowd.
SCORECARD
England 1st innings: 332 and 423 for 8 decl India 1st innings: 292 all out
India 2nd Innings: Lokesh Rahul b Rashid 149, Shikhar Dhawan lbw b Anderson 1, Cheteshwar Pujara lbw b Anderson 0, Virat Kohli c Bairstow b Broad 0, Ajinkya Rahane c Jennings b Moeen 37, Hanuma Vihari c Bairstow b Stokes 0, Rishabh Pant c Moeen b Rashid 114, Ravindra Jadeja c Bairstow b Curran 13, Ishant Sharma c Bairstow b Curran 5, Mohammed Shami b Anderson 0, Jasprit Bumrah not out 0. Extras: (B-10 LB-16) 26. Total: (All out in 94.3 overs) 345. Fall of wickets: 1-1, 1-2, 2-3, 120-4, 121-5, 325-6, 328-7, 336-8, 345-9. Bowling: James Anderson 22.3-11-45-3, Stuart Broad 12-1-43-1, Moeen Ali 17-2-68-1, Sam Curran 9-2-23-2, Ben Stokes 13-1-60-1, Adil Rashid 15-2-63-2, Joe Root 6-1-17-0. � PTI
