England captain Ben Stokes said he was “proud” of his team’s effort, especially that of young spinners Shoaib Bashir, 20, and Tom Hartley, 24, despite their five-wicket defeat in the Ranchi Test. This is Sokes’s first-ever series defeat as captain.

“It was a great Test match. If you see the scoreboard, it’ll say India won by five wickets, but it doesn’t give credit to the way things unfolded—the ebbs and flows on every single day. I can only be proud of my team. We’ve had some inexperienced spinners [Bashir and Hartley], but I’m proud of their effort. They came here without a lot of exposure, but just kept bowling. I can’t ask for anything more. Part of my captaincy is allowing the young guys to revel and the freedom to play in some difficult and intimidating conditions in India,” Stokes said at the post-match press conference.