England whitewash India

England sealed a 4-0 series rout of India with an innings and eight-run victory at The Oval on Monday as Sachin Tendulkar fell just short of an historic 100th hundred. India, who needed 291 runs to make the hosts bat again, frustrated England during a fourth-wicket partnership of 144 between Tendulkar, who made 91, and Amit Mishra. But when Mishra was out for a Test-best 84, it was the start of a collapse that saw India lose seven wickets for 21 runs on the way to 283 all out as the outplayed tourists suffered a second straight innings defeat. Off-spinner Graeme Swann, at last presented with a pitch taking turn this series, did the bulk of the damage with six for 106 to the delight of the majority of a sell-out 23,500 crowd. It was the first time England had swept a four-match series since a 4-0 home whitewash of the West Indies in 2004. “We had to work pretty hard for that,” England captain Andrew Strauss told BBC Radio’s Test Match Special.