England overcome stubborn fifth-wicket partnership to beat India by 60 runs and clinch Test series 3-1

YOU can’t do much better than beat the world’s No 1 team with a match to spare — so three cheers and a glass of bubbly for Joe Root and his players.

The job was completed with victory in the Fourth Test by 60 runs as Moeen Ali added four more wickets to the five he took in the first innings.

After failing to win any of their previous three series, this win over India will be a huge relief to Root and head coach Trevor Bayliss.

Remember, England were 86-6 on the opening day — and they won thanks mainly to vital low-order runs from the likes of Sam Curran and Jos Buttler, as well as Man of the Match Moeen out-bowling his opposite number Ravi Ashwin.

Root says it has been his best and most enjoyable triumph since taking over the captaincy at the start of last summer.

But let’s not get too carried away.

Nobody wants to play the party pooper but the truth is England are some way short of being a complete team. Wherever you look, there are issues and problems.

Here are a few of them:

• They have two struggling openers in Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings. It should be noted India’s top order have been equally short of runs. With the ball swinging and seaming, no opener on either side has made a half-century.
• The captain is so unhappy with batting at No 3 that he switched to No 4 during the match. And that is where he intends to stay.
• A disgruntled Jonny Bairstow is upset at the prospect of losing his beloved wicketkeeping gloves on a permanent basis.
• Ben Stokes has a wonky knee and might have to wait several months to discover if he will be punished further as the fall-out from his street fight lingers on.
• Adil Rashid, nominally the main spinner, has been largely anonymous and under-employed, bowling just 62 overs in four Tests.

On the bright side, Curran has been infectiously superb, Buttler’s Test comeback is an unqualified success and there are no signs of decline in Stuart Broad and James Anderson.

Wins, of course, paper over all manner of cracks and lift morale. But Root and the rest would be foolish to think everything is hunky-dory. After Broad was caught behind from the first ball of day four and Curran was run out trying to manipulate the strike, India were set 245 to win.

Anderson and Broad soon reduced them to 22-3 and the pitch was playing all kind of tricks.

Broad bowled KL Rahul with a grubber while Anderson trapped first innings centurion Cheteshwar Pujara lbw and then Shikhar Dhawan was gobbled up in the gully by Stokes diving to his left.

An England victory looked a certainty — but nothing is certain when Virat Kohli is batting.

India’s captain and vice-captain, Ajinkya Rahane, put on 101 for the fourth wicket, using all their skill, experience and patience.

They endured plenty of alarms, notably when Kohli, on nine, survived after umpire Kumar Dharmasena adjudged an lbw appeal not out and third official, Joel Wilson, ruled the ball brushed Kohli’s bat.

England reviewed again when Kohli, on 15, was hit on the pad by Moeen. But the ball struck him outside the line of off stump.

Rahane was given out leg before to Curran. Again, impact was outside the line.

Between these scares, Kohli and Rahane did their best to nullify the threat of Moeen aiming at a rough patch outside the off stump.

And they worked the quick bowlers around without attempting anything ambitious.

Kohli hit four fours in his 58 while Rahane’s innings of 51 contained just one boundary.

Cook failed to cling on to a sharp chance at short leg when Kohli was 58 but, next ball, he wrapped his hands around a dolly.

Kohli reviewed but he must have known the ball came off his glove.

That was the key moment, the breakthrough England craved. From 123-3, India plunged to 184 all out.

Hardik Pandya was caught low down by Root at second slip while Rishabh Pant, after hitting two fours and a six, sliced to Cook at deep cover.

Rahane and Ishant Sharma were both lbw, Mohammed Shami holed out to long-on and the final wicket came as Ashwin was leg before.