ENG vs IND 2018: Joe Root Calls Series Win Over World Number One India 'Most Enjoyable' Of His Captaincy Career

England captain Joe Root, on Sunday, said Test series victory over India, the world’s number one ranked team, was the best moment of his captaincy career. England thrashed India by 60 runs in the fourth England vs India Test to seal the series with a match to go.

Both the teams had entered the series with contrasting fortunes in the past few Test series. While England had lost two of their last three and drew one at home, India had one nine of their last 10 series including a 4-0 win over England. However, the ranking and the past form went for a toss as England beat the world number one side by 60 runs on Sunday to take an unassailable 3-1 lead.

It was their first series victory since the 2-1 defeat of West Indies last summer. And Root was absolutely delighted with the much-needed series win.

“I think it probably has been,” Root said after play when asked if this was his best victory as captain. “It’s definitely been the most enjoyable. I’ve felt very in control of things.”

England began the defence of 245 on a dominant note. Their pace spearheads Stuart Broad and Shikhar Dhawan had sent India’s top-three back to the hut with just 22 runs on the board. However, an 101-run stand between Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane threatened to take the game away from the hosts.

But the game turned on its head once Moeen Ali accounted for Kohli who scored 58. From there on, the floodgates opened as England bowled India out for 184.

Root said that his team was expecting such a stand and it was all about keeping patience.

“We always knew there would be a partnership at some stage and the biggest challenge for us was if we could stay calm and collected and trust that if we stuck to what we wanted to do for long periods, the wicket would do the rest for us,” Root said. “I thought as a group we performed exceptionally well. It was really pleasing that under that pressure, we managed to come good and get over the line.

“When I was batting on it [yesterday], I thought 190 would be a good score but the fact we got beyond 230 was a fantastic effort. I was fairly confident that if we bowled to our potential we’d have enough in the bank to get over the line,” he added.

England now lead the five-match series 3-1.