India’s thrilling six-run victory over England in the fifth and final Test at The Oval now comes with an intriguing backstory on how head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill reportedly chose to defy the ICC match referee’s warning about World Test Championship (WTC) points being docked for slow over rate in pursuit of a memorable win.
Heading into the final day of the Test, the match was on a knife’s edge. England needed just 35 runs with four wickets in hand, while India required those final breakthroughs to level the series 2-2. But as the tension escalated, so did the stakes off the field.
According to a Dainik Jagran report, match referee Jeff Crowe clearly sent a message to the Indian camp that they were six overs behind the required rate before the start of the final day’s play. The implications were serious-India stood to lose four crucial World Test Championship (WTC) points if they failed to bowl out England and correct their over-rate deficit.
The fifth Test was India’s opening series in the new WTC cycle, and after missing out on last year’s final, every point carried significant weight. In that context, the warning was enough to trigger a strategy meeting in the dressing room.
Gill, Gambhir, assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak, and others discussed a tactical switch. The report stated that one suggestion was to immediately bring on both spinners-Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar-to boost the over rate. But this came with obvious risk: England’s Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton were settled and could have capitalised on the absence of pace to chase the target rapidly.
‘I don’t care about over rate’: Gambhir on match referee’s warning
That’s when Gambhir took a bold stand.
“I don’t care about the over rate,” he reportedly said. “If we lose four points, so be it. We are playing to win.”
Gill backed his coach, and the decision was made: fast bowlers Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj would continue attacking from both ends, regardless of over-rate penalties.
It proved to be the right call. Despite the new ball being due in 22 deliveries, both seamers kept the pressure on with the older ball. Siraj first dismissed Jamie Smith, then Overton, bringing India to the brink. The game reached a nerve-wracking climax as Gus Atkinson’s big hit went for six after a misjudgment on the boundary by Akash Deep, and a run-out opportunity was missed by Dhruv Jurel.
Eventually, Siraj returned to dismiss Atkinson, sealing one of the most dramatic Test victories in recent memory. The fast-bowling strategy had worked and with it, India not only squared the series but gained a vital 28 WTC points. Despite the ICC’s over-rate warning, India avoided a penalty thanks to the result, while England lost two WTC points for their own slow rate.
With this win, India now sit third in the WTC standings behind Australia and Sri Lanka, while the result further cements Gambhir’s no-compromise, aggressive coaching style.