Not even India’s first 300-plus total in 14 attempts against England could prove sufficient to win their first international fixture of a desperately one-sided tour, as the 21-year-old Yorkshire batsman Jonny Bairstow marked his international debut with a nerveless display of power-hitting under the floodlights at Cardiff. Chasing a revised target of 241 in 34 overs after a sequence of Duckworth-Lewis readjustments, Bairstow battered an extraordinary 41 from 21 balls, as England eased home with 10 balls to spare.

In a breathless performance, Bairstow struck the fifth ball of his international career for six over midwicket, and added two more and a four for good measure, as England marched up the mountain to complete their third victory of the series and their eighth in ten international matches against India this summer.

The denouement stole the thunder from Virat Kohli’s excellent 107 from 93, and also overshadowed the final ODI match of Rahul Dravid’s 344-match career. He signed off with 69 from 79 balls, and a handshake from every England player, but as had been the case all summer, he was powerless to stop a team on the rampage.