A final morning embarrassment ended the fourth Test in Mumbai in a hurry as England capitulated to Ravi Ashwin and India with the fight and spirit of a paper bag.
Of course the last four wickets weren't expected to pull off a miracle, but in 33 minutes they came, they saw, they didn't hang around and that was that.
A defeat by an innings is a tough pill to swallow, but to lose by an innings and 36 runs when you scored 400 batting first is as unpalatable as it gets, which is why England have become just the third side ever to do it.
It means the series is now over as a contest 3-0 down with one to play, and the Pataudi Trophy again belongs to India after five years and three series' without it.
James Anderson was the last man out, following Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid before him to secure a 17 unbeaten match in a row for India, a new record and a seven loss of the year for England. Their record is eight.
Ashwin has been a star of the series along with his skipper Virat Kohli and it was he who picked up all four victims with his tidy off spin to finish the game with figures of 12-167.
He is a wonderful bowler, especially in Indian conditions and likewise Kohli is a wonderful batsman, especially in Indian conditions as his 640 runs in the series highlights.
Anderson pointed these things out in measured tones the night before in his press conference, but such is the antipathy towards him in Indian circles dating back to the spat with Ravi Jadeja and MS Dhoni in 2014 that it spilled over into ugly scenes in the middle.
Ashwin couldn't wait to give Anderson a tongue-lashing and walked with him down the pitch to the striker's end to make his point.
Jadeja joined in, as too Kohli, although perhaps he realised belatedly as captain he might want to calm things down.
The umpires finally entered the fray a little later to keep the players apart, but like any bully who is on top, Ashwin continued to give Anderson a piece of his mind.
If you have an interest in English cricket your primary concern will be with how poorly the team coped with this Indian challenge.
It is one of the hardest there is in the game for a non-subcontinental side, but despite England's improvements over the past two years they took a big step backwards here.
They have players with quick hands and quick feet, an absolute must for batting against the turning ball, but they could not cope with the accuracy and guile of Ashwin and Jadeja.
Their selections both for the squad itself and for the first choice team left plenty to be desired playing three spinners when they needed two and playing two when they needed three.
The schedule was rotten, asking them to play seven Test matches in a row and expecting players to find their feet in the cauldron.
The fact that both Haseeb Hameed and Keaton Jennings did just that is a credit to them, but that was more by luck than judgement.
And yet despite all the mistakes that England made throughout the four matches so far, there has been a feeling of inevitability about this series coming against a very fine Indian team with perhaps two of its greatest players in the same side.
Plenty of teams come here and fail, and England have certainly fitted the mould, but if they return with several of the men they have tried with this time, perhaps then things will be different.
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