Another day when they could have played Supertramp's "Its Raining Again" on the stadium's PA system. Only, there was nothing remotely romantic or cute about the rain that played havoc with the fourth day's play at Bangalore. As on previous days, England had by far the better of the sporadic skirmishes. It's not just the weather that's had a damp English feel to it here over the past three days. At times, it's been hard to tell which is the home side and which is the visiting one.

Nasser Hussain and his men have made optimum use of the sort of conditions that are usually to be found at Old Trafford, while the Indians have been out-thought, outfought and outplayed for the best part of the last two Tests.

The weather looks to have given the Indians a reprieve they scarcely deserve. They went into this Test with a bowling attack top-heavy with spinners - a tactic that was exposed by some resolute English batting, and the fact that Javagal Srinath, their only genuine seamer, was the pick of the bowlers. And then, to rub it in, Matthew Hoggard and Andy Flintoff bowled with enthusiasm and control as England built up a handy lead.

Apart from the batting of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag and the bowling of Srinath - and Sarandeep in patches - there's been precious little for India to cheer about here. It's been that way since Mohali: Tendulkar's brilliance against Hussain's battleplan.

As with Italian football teams of the 1960s and the catenaccio tactics, England have decided that their chances are best served by containing - and frustrating - the opposition.

Over the past two seasons, India have struggled to eke out series wins at home against New Zealand and Zimbabwe and it now looks odds-on that they will achieve a similar result here. They were expected to whitewash all three teams in helpful home conditions. That it didn't happen should give the powers-that-be plenty of food for digestion.

For over 40 years - dating back to Jasu Patel and Kanpur, 1959 - India have been one-trick ponies at home. Opponents have cottoned on to the Indian spin puzzle, the odd loss notwithstanding, and are now giving back as good as they get.

England came here as complete no-hopers and they will leave with a few new feathers in Hussain's cap. India, on the other hand, need to take a long hard look at a series that started so promisingly at Mohali and has since gone off the rails at a snail's pace. We used to be invincible at home and hopeless abroad. We're still unacceptably bad away from home, and the veneer of invincibility at home is being peeled off layer by layer.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor, Wisden.com, India.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd