Legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin minced no words as he slammed India's tactics on Day 4 of the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval.

The series-decider is evenly poised heading into the fifth day’s play. Chasing 374, the hosts require 35 more runs while the visitors need four wickets.

Harry Brook and Joe Root slammed centuries for England, but with both batters being dismissed, India had the edge. Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton are currently at the crease, and while the duo will try its best to help England register a 3-1 series victory, the Indian bowlers will be keen to end the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at 2-2.

Ashwin was not pleased with India's ploy during the match-turning 195-run stand between Brook and Root, saying the tourists could have brought Washington Sundar into the attack earlier to curb the run flow.

“Coming back to the topic of spinners not being used, I have felt in this series that there has been a lack of game awareness and in many ways, our tactical acumen both on and off the field. This is the main reason why England are ahead in this series and India are behind. We haven't been the sharpest,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’.

“I feel Shubman Gill will get really better as the captain. He will learn. But sometimes if you feel that you can play spin really well, you will not bring spinners into the attack, and when you miss the moment to bring the spinners in these conditions, then the spinner becomes a really defensive option,” he added.

Ashwin went on to claim that had Sundar been introduced early, he could have allowed India to have some control and put more pressure on Brook, who made a mockery of the Indian pace attack.

“When Harry Brook started taking it on, after 20 runs, you could have brought on the spinner to choke the run flows. From the other end, a pacer could have bowled. With all this in mind, Washington Sundar could have been brought earlier into the attack,” Ashwin stated.

“Making these mistakes is a huge gap. We don't know whether the message is going from outside to the middle. We don't know the dressing room talks. But in today's day and age, these mistakes can definitely be avoided,” he remarked.

Out of 76.2 overs India have bowled so far in the fourth inning, only eight have been bowled by spinners, with Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja sharing four overs each. In the first innings, Sundar wasn’t given a single over while Jadeja bowled just two.