England were on the wrong end of cricketing carnage in Ahmedabad as they succumbed to the embarrassment of a two-day defeat by India.
When Rohit Sharma clubbed the winning six to seal a 10-wicket home win under lights it ended a dizzying day of activity that added up to a hopelessly uneven contest between bat and pink ball but also a deserved victor.
Two-day finishes are rare for a reason – there have been only six others in the last 75 years – and it took a mixture of fine bowling, deeply flawed batting and a pitch unsuitable for long-form matches to add to that list.
To dismiss any of the three factors would be myopic and unhelpful, but while 17 wickets in the first two sessions made for high-octane entertainment it was a mostly unedifying spectacle.
England have been frustrated by the surfaces and some of the umpiring but could hardly complain about the result having lost all 20 wickets for 193 and lasted less than 80 overs across two innings.
After one session things had looked very different for the tourists, when a hot streak of seven for 31 saw them dismiss India for 145 – just 33 in front.
It had taken a staggering haul of five for eight from Joe Root's part-time spin to create that unexpected note of optimism, but the same conditions which had turned Root's occasional off-breaks into unplayable hand grenades soon left England batsmen on the canvas at 81 all out.
Axar Patel took five for 32 to finish with a match haul of 11, with Ravichandran Ashwin bagging four, including his magical 400th.
Left needing just 49 to take a 2-1 series lead, Rohit charged for the line and ended things with a booming six off Root, whose side cannot now qualify for the World Test Championship final.
Patel was relentless as he picked vast holes in the visiting side, pounding away mercilessly and cashing in on a mass inability to distinguish between big turners and skiddy arm balls.
He started in stirring style by cleaning up the source of almost half of England's first-innings runs – Zak Crawley – with the first ball of the innings.
Patel thought he had a hat-trick, dating back to his last ball on day one, when he won an lbw decision against the sweeping Jonny Bairstow but when that was overturned he simply bowled the Yorkshireman outright at his next attempt.
England were still in arrears when Dom Sibley followed but Root and Ben Stokes shared a precarious stand of 31 to ensure there would be some sort of chase.
The pair joined the long list of lbw victims, Ashwin getting Stokes (25) for the 11th time in Tests and Patel finally worming his way through Root's defence.
Once Ollie Pope lost his off stump to Ashwin, the end was nigh and none of the last five got to double figures as the spinners ran riot.
Sharma and and Shubman Gill knocked off the slender target as Leach and Root tried in vain to create some drama, leaving three days to commiserate behind closed doors.
