IT was a script seemingly written in heaven. An enthralling series – one of the greatest in the 148-year history of Test cricket – produced the perfect result: a 2-2 draw.
There was nothing to choose between India and England – both fought tooth and nail in all five matches, giving absolutely no quarter to each other. The young Indian team, ably led by the new skipper, Shubman Gill, made an amazing comeback after being 1-2 down to draw the fourth Test at Manchester and win the final one at The Oval. On the last day of the fifth Test, India’s ecstasy was visible in the players’ lap of honour, which gave the impression that they had won the series and not just the match. England’s agony was summed up by the plight of all-rounder Chris Woakes, who walked out to bat wearing a sling to protect his dislocated shoulder, with 17 runs needed and just one wicket in hand. England eventually fell short by a mere six runs as never-say-die pacer Mohammed Siraj delivered the coup de grace.
Siraj was the undisputed star of The Oval finale, even as India found several heroes during the gruelling tour – Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep and the old warhorse, Ravindra Jadeja. The skipper came tantalisingly close to breaking Sunil Gavaskar’s 54-year-old record of most runs by an Indian in a Test series. And the Little Master, with his trademark humility, said Gill’s achievement was way bigger as he had the onerous responsibility of being the captain as well. There’s no doubt that Gill is here to stay – and the same goes for the core of his talent-rich team.
The five-match combat, headlined by glorious highs and acrimonious lows, showed that it’s too early to write Test cricket’s epitaph in the age of slam-bang, moneyspinning T20. The longest and most challenging format of the game, graced by all-time greats like Joe Root and Ben Stokes, is alive and well.