It was a disappointing end to an entertaining series as the Ahmedabad Test petered out into a draw that gave India a 2-1 series win over the four matches.

Sadly, the final day was almost completely forgettable. The flat pitch that had only produced nineteen wickets over the first four days did not offer any more assistance to the bowlers.

This was not a spectacle for anyone but the real diehards and very few showed up with the vast Narendra Modi Stadium possibly showing more empty seats than have ever before been seen at a Test match.

There had been some interest at the start of play with Australia still trailing by 88 runs. A few quick wickets and India would have a chance of a win.

Ravi Ashwin sought to enourage that excitement when he managed to find an early breakthrough. Matt Kuhnemann had been sent in to open the batting as a replacement for Usman Khawaja who was nursing a slight lower leg injury. On 6 he was given out lbw although replays showed that the delivery was going on to miss leg stump.

Only twenty one runs were scored off the first eighteen overs but by then the batters were settled and started to find the rope a few times to up the scoring rate. Travis Head even smashed a six straight over Ashwin’s head after skipping down the wicket.

When Australia went to lunch at 1-73 they were still trailing by 18 runs. There’d been few other highlights although an umpire’s call review decision for an Ashwin lbw appeal went the way of Head nine balls before the break that he reached on 45 with Labuschagne on 22.

During the interval the last balls of an enthralling Test in Christchurch were being played out. New Zealand’s captain, Kane Williamson, scored an unbeaten 121 and got his side over the line for a two wicket win over Sri Lanka, literally. He had to dive full length to make his ground by inches to gain for the bye that New Zealand needed to win off the very last ball of the game.

Apart from the contrasting excitement of a second consecutive tight Test in the country, the result had great significance to India. Sri Lanka’s failure to win meant that India had qualified for the World Test Championship Final. Unfortunately that meant that the Test in Ahmedabad held even less significance and any small sense of urgency was further diminished.

Half an hour after nourishing themselves and Labuschagne glanced a shot off Axar Patel for four to give Australia the lead.

Head was enjoying the flatter conditions that suit his naturally aggressive technique and looked certain to score his first century outside of Australia at his twenty-fifth attempt.

It wasn’t to be. On 90 he drove at a ball from Patel that, for once, gripped and turned from outside the off-stump and he was bowled through the gate. He ended the series with a very credible average of 47, having moved up to open the innings after the injury to David Warner in the Delhi Test.

He’d added 139 runs for the second wicket with Marnus Labuschagne who had just brought up his maiden fifty of the series.

There’d been speculation on whether this would be Steve Smith’s last Test innings in India. If it is then it nearly ended with him scoring a duck as Patel found the edge but Srikar Bharat, who’s had a poor time behind the stumps, failed to get a glove on the tough chance.

During India’s innings the first four wickets had each fallen in separate, consecutive sessions and the pattern continued as Australia went to tea at 2-158. It almost wasn’t the case as Patel came very close to dismissing Labuschagne to the last ball before the break as he made a delivery spin sharply past the edge.

When the afternoon drinks break was over it was clear that India were ready to shake hands when the time came. Shubman Gill came into the attack to bowl his first over in Test cricket and he was joined at the other end by Cheteshwar Pujara who had previously only bowled one over in 102 Tests.

One ball later and the declaration by Australia at 2-175 while leading by 84 runs allowed the finish to be brought forward by ten minutes allowing for the innings break.

That was that. The flat deck had won.

In the end it proved to be a very good day for India. The draw confirmed a 2-1 series win with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy having already been secured after they won the first two matches.They also qualified for the World Test Championship Final when the two countries will face off again at The Oval in London starting on 7 June.

Australia had ended the series well with their win in Indore in the third Test and a comfortable draw in Ahmedabad. They will be looking back at each of the first two Tests when they were on top at one point in each of them. They weren’t able to grab those moments and, as a result, the likes of Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, David Warner and Mitchell Starc will likely end their careers with the disappointment of never having won or drawn a series in India.