England lost the third Specsavers Test by a mammoth 203 runs as India cut the hosts’ series lead to 2-1 with two to play.
England managed to delay the inevitable into the final day at Trent Bridge thanks to the batsmanship of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes – and then Adil Rashid’s sketchy survival deep into the previous evening.
They resumed, however, on 311 for nine – one delivery away from defeat, with a world-record target of 521 to win a notional irrelevance.
It took just 17 balls, and 10 minutes, for the final wicket to fall in front of a sparse crowd – who did not pay to watch, after Nottinghamshire decided to allow free entry.
They witnessed two uneventful overs and then the dismissal of number 11 James Anderson, caught at slip when a delivery from Ravi Ashwin spat and turned to loop up off his glove and end England’s second innings on 317 all out.
A match which was effectively won and lost inside one session on day two, when England lost all 10 first-innings wickets between lunch and tea, therefore concluded predictably.
India’s victory means all outcomes remain possible in this series, which will resume in Southampton next week.