There were twists and turns, fingernails chewed by supporters of both teams along the way, but in the end no miracle for those willing on England. India reeled in their target of 192 on day four in Ranchi to claim victory in the fourth Test by five wickets and with it an unassailable 3-1 series lead with one to play.

Two days into the match thoughts of a potential decider in the Himalayan hill station of Dharamshala had begun to percolate, England seemingly in control of their own destiny. Their hosts had stumbled to stumps 134 runs in arrears on first innings and seven wickets down – as good an opportunity as a visiting side will get in India.

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But after a ruinous third day for Ben Stokes and his men, the deficit eroded by Dhruv Jurel’s masterful marshalling of the tail and followed by a collapse at the hands of India’s spinners, they had drifted. At 1.38pm local time on day four reality bit, Jurel – playing his second Test – fiddling Tom Hartley into the leg side for the final two runs.

Jurel, a 23-year-old right-hander with shades of Virat Kohli in his correct technique, was 37 not out when handshakes broke out, having been one of half of a match-sealing sixth-wicket stand worth 72. It came with Shubman Gill, a year older than his wicketkeeper, who had ground out an unbeaten 52 from 124 balls at No 3.

The pair had come together at 120 for five after lunch, another youngster in Shoaib Bashir having winkled Ravindra Jadeja and Safraz Khan in consecutive deliveries in the 38th over to raise thoughts of an English heist. India had not struck a boundary since the 16th over, this pressure boiling over as Jadeja slammed a full toss to Jonny Bairstow at midwicket and Safraz Khan fiddled a bat-pad to Ollie Pope at short leg.

But in the 47th over, after a period of watchful accumulation alongside Gill, Jurel caressed Bashir through cover to break the drought and take the runs required under 50. With Jimmy Anderson off the field with reports of a tight quad muscle – Ollie Robinson was totally ignored – Bashir and Tom Hartley could not induce another twist.

Instead, having chiselled away at the target initially, it was over to Gill and Jurel to deliver a final flourish for their adoring public, the former lifting Bashir for a couple of sixes in the 60th over, his only boundaries. Bashir finished with match figures of eight for 198, including three on the final day, as the chief bright spark for the tourists.

The result met early expectations, a sense of creeping dread setting in when Rohit Sharma flicked Anderson for a six over midwicket in the third over of the day. Resuming 40 runs into the target alongside the wunderkind, Yashasvi Jaiswal, India’s captain had delivered an early statement of intent.

Not that heads dropped out in the middle, with Stokes able to conjure up three wickets in the space of nine overs – including two in eight balls – to leave the hosts 100 for three in the 27th. Jaiswal fell first for 37 to a sparkling catch from Anderson at backward point off Joe Root, before Hartley and Bashir took a wicket apiece.

Hartley’s was a beauty, Sharma caught behind by Ben Foakes for 55 after the lightest of nicks showed it wasn’t a stumping, while Pope produced another flying catch under the helmet to remove Rajat Patidar for a duck and hand Bashir his first.

For all the confidence of England’s two rookie spinners, never once dropping their heads as they wheeled away for their captain, they could not quite match the same sense of panic induced by Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav 24 hours earlier.

Things may have been different had India been chasing a target similar to the 231 they failed to knock off in Hyderabad and so plenty went back to England’s collapse to 145 on the third day and Robinson’s dropped catch off Jurel 59 runs into his match-turning 90 alongside the tail. England had chances in this one, India seized theirs.

• Ali Martin’s full report to follow