"We weren't quite good enough when it mattered" - McCullum.

Contrary to pre-series predictions, England under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have had a competitive Test series in India. While the visitors are trailing 1-3 after a series-sealing defeat at Ranchi, India have been stretched in all four games so far, although the hosts have also missed several first-choice players in the series. At Ranchi and in the previous game in Rajkot, England had the opportunity to surge ahead, only to squander away the advantage.

In the third Test, England responded to India's total of 445 with an imposing 209/2 by the end of the second day's play. That evening, the hosts' suffered a jolt with Ravichandran Ashwin's sudden withdrawal from the game owing to a family emergency. It left India a bowler down mid-way through the game and with Ben Duckett looking in ominous touch, the pressure was completely on Rohit Sharma's men. However, an inspired bowling performance ensued on day three led by Mohammed Siraj as England slipped to 319 all out. It was a decisive moment, not just in the context of the game but also the series.

In Ranchi, England were much closer to attaining their second win than they were at Rajkot. On a wearing surface that was deteriorating by the minute, England's total of 353 looked more than competitive and at 177/7, India were on the ropes. However, a fantastic rearguard from Dhruv Jurel and his 76-run stand with Kuldeep Yadav turned the tables, starting another Indian comeback that eventually proved too hot to handle for England. Reflecting on this game and the series in general, head coach Brendon McCullum admitted that his side hadn't won the vital moments enough across the four games. The New Zealander, however, sounded extremely optimistic about England's Test future.

"We're disappointed we've gone down in the series, but at the same time we're really proud of the efforts of the guys." said McCullum during his interaction with the press. "We've had our moments throughout this series, we've performed well at times and been outplayed in others. It's been a great contest and you've got to acknowledge that India, at the times where the game has been sitting on the line, have really stepped up and performed."

"We weren't quite good enough when it mattered. Or India were better, to be honest, than us being not quite good enough. We've lost this series and we didn't win the Ashes but we're a better cricket team than we were 18 months ago and we've got an opportunity in the next 18 months to do some pretty special shit. I'm fizzing for it, to be honest."

"Time on the tools, experience and just keep chiselling away at any of those rough edges which creep up every now and then, which is natural, and we'll get there eventually."

One of the major revelations of the series thus far has been the maturity shown by England's inexperienced spin attack. Tom Hartley in his debut series is currently the leading wicket-taker with 20 wickets from four games, having produced an impeccable seven-fer to bowl England to victory in the first Test. The left-arm spinner has subsequently continued to be a probing figure in England's bowling unit and has also contributed vital runs down the order as well.

Hartley's spin partners in Rehan Ahmed (11 wickets in three games) and Shoaib Bashir (eight wickets in his second game) have also been good with the right-arm off-spinner putting England in a dominant position in the first innings. The trio have in totality put on a much better performance than their more experienced counterparts in the India camp, much to the surprise of everyone. McCullum lauded the efforts of the youngsters, especially Hartley and Bashir, and hoped that the duo would get more exposure in the upcoming County season.

"I think that's really important. Both of those guys have been outstanding in this series. When we picked Tom and Bash, there was probably a little bit of hesitation from others, and from us there was a bit of apprehension, too. We thought they had the skills, but will they be good enough at this level? What we've seen is they are definitely good enough."

"It will be a slight frustration of ours if they weren't given opportunities at county level. There's a very real possibility that might be the case, but without wanting to dictate to counties, because they have their own agendas as well, when you see performances like we have out of those two bowlers throughout the series, I think you'd be slightly mad if you didn't give them more opportunities in county cricket. Hopefully, we'll see them get plenty of chances and if it's not for them, then it might be for us."

The final Test of the series at Dharamsala will be Jonny Bairstow's 100th game in the format. The dynamic batter hasn't had a productive series so far, despite getting starts in nearly all the innings that he batted. Given the seniority and impact that he brings to this England batting line-up, Bairstow's form has been a let down but the occasion could just be what the Yorkshireman needs to spur himself back into form. McCullum had words of encouragement for Bairstow and confirmed that the latter would keep his spot.

"Jonny loves a milestone. He won't shy away from that. He'll play. It'll be really emotional for him. Everyone knows Jonny's story and he is quite an emotional character, so big milestones mean a lot to him. It'll be a really emotional time and we look forward to sharing it with him."

Skipper Ben Stokes was expected to bowl in the last two games of the series, particularly to balance out the bowling attack's potency. However, the all-rounder continued to play as a pure batter at Ranchi, raising doubts over his fitness. McCullum, though, quashed those talks and revealed that Stokes absence with the ball was more of a tactical decision and maintained that the England captain is available to bowl at Dharamsala.