Ben Stokes urged England not to go into a “downhill spiral” after the most chastening defeat of his captaincy.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s second successive double century helped India set a mammoth 557 target on the fourth afternoon of the third Test in Rajkot before England capitulated to 122 all out to lose by 434 runs.
As India celebrated going 2-1 up in the five-match series, which resumes in Ranchi on Friday, Stokes demanded England pick themselves up quickly after their heaviest defeat in terms of runs since 1934.
Despite admitting England came off second best in his 100th Test, Stokes believes poor implementation – rather than the attacking methods they have fostered in the last couple of years – was to blame.
He said: “We were outplayed. Did we go into our shells a little bit because of the situation? That’s not what we do. I don’t think we need to temper anything, we need to look at our execution this week.
“Losing games for England isn’t where you want to be but games are won or lost in the head. You’ve got to learn from disappointment but use it in a positive way, not let it eat you.
“I know that thinking too deep into certain things can send you on a downhill spiral. It’s about what we do the next two games.
“I just make sure all the emotion, all the disappointment there would be in that dressing room, make sure it stays there. We’ve got two games left and all I’m thinking about is winning this series 3-2.”
Joe Root is yet to reach 30 in six attempts and perished in the first innings to his specialised reverse ramp, which drew criticism from ex-England batters Sir Geoffrey Boycott and Michael Vaughan.
Root’s dismissal led to England collapsing from 224 for two to 319 all out and conceding a first-innings deficit of 126, which ultimately proved a major moment in the Test.
Stokes said: “Because he got out to it, it definitely was a turning point. I can understand why there would be frustration around that because of how good a player Joe is.
“It’s not a shot you necessarily see Test match players playing. But who am I to question a guy who has 30 Test match hundreds and nearly 12,000 Test match runs? I think he knows what he’s doing.”
Ahead of this Test, Stokes revealed he had made a “pinky promise” with England’s physiotherapist that he would not bowl on this tour following surgery on a longstanding knee injury in November.
He has not bowled competitively since the Lord’s Ashes Test in early July but he has been stepping up his recovery and has not ruled out the prospect of sending down a few overs at some point in India.
Stokes added: “I’m not saying yes, I’m not saying no. I have progressed a lot faster than I thought I would. Me being me I’m always very optimistic about most things.
“That will be a more detailed chat with the medical team about what workload I have done to pass me off as not being a massive risk.
“I managed to bowl at 100 per cent in one of the warm up days here which made me feel pretty good.
“I felt like I could have bowled in the game but that would have been stupid. It’s a work in progress, I have a lot of workload to put through the rest of my body.”
While Ravindra Jadeja’s five for 41 helped bowl England out in 39.4 overs, Jaiswal amassed a stunning 214 not out as India racked up 430 for four before Rohit Sharma called him and Sarfaraz Khan in.
It was the first time a team had declared against England in the Bazball era and lent further credence to India having the next superstar on their hands.
Stokes added: “If I said I didn’t think it was any good that would be a rogue thing – he’s a great player to watch, I enjoy watching good players play, even when it’s against me. He’s very special.”
Bairstow and Moeen left out of England's white-ball squad
Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali have both been left out of England's white-ball series squad, with five uncapped players named.
As Jos Buttler looks to the future, Warwickshire batting all-rounders, Jacob Bethell and Dan Mousley, have been given their first international call-ups for the three-match T20 series against Australia next month.
Essex batter Jordan Cox, Hampshire seamer John Turner and Leicestershire left-arm bowler Josh Hull, who was named as Mark Wood's replacement in the Test squad to play Sri Lanka, have also been picked.
The latter three will also be involved for the five one-day internationals that follow.
World Cup winners Bairstow and Moeen, who have been regular fixtures in England's white-ball squad for over a decade, could have made their final international appearances after being left out of the squad, with Chris Jordan also being overlooked.
Brydon Carse, however, has been recalled for both squads after serving a betting ban, while Saqib Mahmood returns for the T20 series after recovering from injury. Buttler will also be fit to feature after overcoming a calf injury.
Marcus Trescothick will lead England for the first time against Australia after being named Matthew Mott's interim replacement.
Mott left in July following England's semi-final exit to eventual champions India in the T20 World Cup, having also failed to help England defend their 50-over world title in 2023.
The first match of the T20 series will take place on September 11 at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
England T20 squad to play Australia:
Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner.
England ODI squad: Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Reece Topley, John Turner.
Rain restricts play to 15 overs on day one between West Indies and South Africa
Aiden Markram lost his wicket as South Africa reached 45-1 before rain stopped play on day one of the first Test against West Indies.
Markram was dismissed on nine by Jason Holder (1-2) in the 14th over.
Kemar Roach (0-6) had Markram on the back foot throughout, though it was Holder who made the breakthrough with a wicked delivery that sent the South African's off-stump tumbling.
Tony de Zorzi reached 32 not-out and Tristan Stubbs was on two not-out when, during the tea break, play was abandoned for the day.
It means 75 overs of play were lost on day one in Trinidad, where play will start early on day two.
Vandersay rips through India as Sri Lanka snatch series lead
Jeffrey Vandersay tore through India's batting lineup with six wickets as Sri Lanka snatched the ODI series lead with a 32-run victory in Colombo.
Leg-spinner Vandersay managed 6-33 – his best international figures – as Rohit Sharma's tourists collapsed in remarkable fashion on Sunday, falling 1-0 down with one ODI remaining in the three-match series.
India held their hosts to a modest 240-9 in the first innings as Washington Sundar (3-30) led the way, while Avishka Fernando and Kamindu Mendis anchored at either end of the batting order with 40 apiece.
Rohit responded by crashing 64 off just 44 deliveries as India raced to 97 without loss, only for the captain to fall when attempting to reverse sweep a climbing Vandersay delivery in the 14th over.
The 34-year-old spinner would soon remove Shubman Gill, on 35, and Shivam Dube without scoring in the same over, before trapping Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in front to complete his first ODI five-wicket haul.
KL Rahul followed to leave India struggling at 147-6, though Axar Patel offered resistance before falling on 44 to Charith Asalanka, who then removed Sundar and Mohammed Siraj.
Arshdeep Singh was then run out as a battling Sri Lanka seized control heading into the final clash on Wednesday.
Data Debrief: Vandersay becomes Sri Lanka's new Murali
Vandersay had only managed 27 wickets in 20 previous ODI innings for Sri Lanka, though added six with an eye-catching showing of leg-spin bowling here.
His previous 4-10 best in this format came against cricketing minnows Zimbabwe, but a remarkable six-wicket haul will live long in the memory after dismissing two India greats in Rohit and Kohli.
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