India crushed England to come out victorious by an innings and 64 runs in the fifth and final Test match on Saturday in Dharamshala holding a 4-1 series win. England were folded for 195 to be hit by a massive defeat. England’s tepid batting gave huge advantage to India as they succesfully wrapped up the series with a sensational win in the fifth game inside three days.

England, meanwhile, crashed to their fourth consecutive defeat of the series. After India’s overwhelming victory, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid lauded the entire team for their efforts. 

“Yeah, really proud, to be honest. To go behind in the first Test, obviously it was a little bit disappointing, but just credit to the team and all the players, the way they bounced back. I thought we were able to keep a lot of calmness in spite of losing that first match. Still believed that we had the skills and the abilities to compete. And just the way we performed, especially when we've been put under pressure at various stages in the series. We've always found people to step up, the team to stand up. So as a coach and as a support staff, I couldn't be really prouder of this team and the way they've played right through the series,” Dravid said during the post-match presentation.

During the course of this series, India reeled from the absence of experienced players like Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami and KL Rahul who couldn’t be available due to their respective issues. 

“Obviously when you do lose players of the kind of experience and quality that we probably didn't have in this series, it can be tough. I mean it can be tough just from an entertainment perspective for people who come to watch the series or follow the series - you want to watch some of the greatest players in the world play. But, having said that, I just always really believe that there's an incredible amount of talent in India and a lot of young people, young players coming through. And it was a great opportunity for them to step up and show how good they are. And we saw that right throughout the series. And I think from our perspective, it was terrific to see the young players do well, but also I thought our performances were all-round. We had sort of total team performances. If you went down our whole squad, you'd see almost everyone contributed at some stage in the series, at critical stages. So, that was a pleasing thing for us from our perspective,” Dravid said.

Rahul Dravid hailed the leadership of Rohit Sharma as he utilised the services of young players, who were given opportunities during the series, very effectively.

“I think I'm privileged to work with a lovely team. It's not just about me. And I think this is a fantastic bunch of professionals that I have the privilege of working with. And I'm learning from them all the time. Rohit [Sharma] has been fantastic to work with. I think he's a terrific leader. And just the guys gravitate towards him phenomenally, which is fantastic to see.” 

Ravichandran Ashwin, playing his 100th Test match, returned with the figures of 5-77 to topple England’s innings. Dravid extolled the efforts of Ashwin. 

“I don't know. I mean, some great performances all through. Hard to pick probably one standout moment. Maybe, I'd just say Ashwin coming back to the team after what he went through. Yeah, performances are there and you're expected to perform and you're expected to do well. But, you know, Ash coming back after what he'd gone through for the team and wanting to come back and contribute to the team and the series, I think for me really signified what this team is about and what the character of this team is. And I think that was just for me, probably the standout moment of the series and really gladdens your heart as a coach to kind of environment that that had been created.