India bussed it down to Trent Bridge on day five of the third Test with one last nail to drive into England’s coffin. It was duly hammered home by Ravi Ashwin to give the visitors a clinical 203-run victory, just their seventh Test success on English soil and one to end a run of nine defeats in 11 games encompassing the last two tours under MS Dhoni.

To say that certain sections of the English punditariat would have been marginally surprised by the fact let alone the nature of India’s win here – they have been ahead of the game since Rahane and Kohli batted undefeated through the afternoon session on day one, and have only been vexed at one stage since: when a subdued Stokes and Buttler replicated their feat on day four – is something of an understatement. Indeed, in the wake of England’s thumping victory at Lord’s, effectively achieved inside two days, one esteemed former England captain and media provocateur opined from his platform on Channel 5’s highlights that India’s dependency on Kohli and seemingly incurable fallibility against the swinging ball left him unable to see how they would win a game all series. That is, it left him unable to see beyond the end of his nose, which isn’t an optimal optical situation for a cricket analyst.

The deeper forces at play here are, of course, the finances of the Indian game, the uniquely dominant imaginative hold that cricket enjoys on sporting life there, and the hothousing climate of the IPL, which may not engender the technical skills required for Test cricket but certainly fosters intense motivation for self-improvement – in particular, with regard to athleticism and its knock-on effect for fielding – under highly competitive conditions, as well as allowing huge numbers of cricketers to regularly experience high-pressure situations, which may well be more significant for Test success in England than early-season batting in Derby.

India will always produce wristy strokeplayers and outstanding spinners. They now have a growing battery of fast bowlers (add Umesh and Bhuvi Kumar to the Trent Bridge trio), too. But Pandya – slotting into the ‘engine room’ with Ashwin and a keeper – provides the crucial balance when four seamers are needed, and may yet become a good enough ‘sandpaper bowler’ and reverse-swinger on the subcontinent to take the new ball and allow India to play three frontline spinners, with Jadeja batting at No.9, Kuldeep at No.10.

It will be fascinating to watch him, and India, develop. But we should be wary of solid conclusions.