It was India’s game to win

I REMEMBER LEAVING India around May 16 and thinking: What was I  getting myself into for the next two-and-a-half months? Not many had given India a chance. Virat Kohli and Rohit Shar­ma had both announced their retire­ment, and Ravichandran Ashwin too had called it a day in Australia. Jasprit Bumrah wouldn’t play more than three Test matches, and India had a young cap­tain in Shubman Gill. He hadn’t scored many in SENA countries, and in every sense, it was baptism by fire. Gautam Gambhir, the head coach, was under fire for having lost 0-3 against New Zealand at home and 1-3 against Australia Down Un­der. India, for most, would be a pushover.

Something told me that wouldn’t be the case. On tour, you need to back the team. Be critical, but also back the team. That’s how it should be and I decided to take the punt. The first pit stop was Beck­enham where India started to train. And I did see intensity and commitment. Something seemed right. Could India compete? Could they stand up against Ben Stokes and company? When things moved to Leeds, Gill started giving a vibe that he belonged. At his very first press conference, he said his team was in the UK to win and that was the only focus. Many debated if this was bluster. The captain, at Headingley, walked the talk and his deputy went one better. Gill got a hundred and Pant, a generational red-ball player, got back-to-back hun­dreds, and India scored 800-plus runs in the Test.

Unfortunately for Gill, the bowling did not hold up and despite the presence of Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, Eng­land raced to a huge target. As was ex­pected, the murmur grew louder. Zero-5 looming was the refrain. I was under pressure to justify what I was doing and why. To go all in and cover this series was a risk and things did not look too good.

Yet again, something in me said that this is a Test series and you need to stay patient. Things will change, for the team had showed fight. Having said that, I could never imagine what would unfold in Edgbaston, considered an Eng­lish fortress of epic proportions and one where India had never won. Gill scored a magical double hundred and followed it up with yet another 150 in the sec­ond innings and Siraj, in the absence of Bumrah, assumed the mantle of leader of the bowling pack. He led from the front and got an unlikely partner in Akash Deep who bowled his heart out and picked 10 wickets in the game to give India a famous victory. Things stood even going into Lord’s, and all of a sudden, the interest had peaked. This was no longer a team that could be written off. Some naysayers started giving them a chance to even win the series. This is what happens in India with reactions moving from one extreme to another.

Lord’s, I’d still say, was India’s game to win. Chasing 192, it was a game that should have been sealed and the job done. Gill’s dismissal in the evening of the fourth day was the turning point and thereafter, Jofra Archer produced some real magic on Day 5 against Rishabh Pant to seal the deal for Eng­land. Ravindra Jadeja fought hard and kept India in the hunt but it wasn’t to be. When Siraj dragged on the Bashir deliv­ery, it was heartbreak. All the fight had come to nothing, and yet again, England was 2-1 up. Lord’s hurt. And that’s what made it difficult for India—only to pick themselves up and turn things around for Manchester.

Old Trafford, rainy as always, is yet another English fortress. Gill needed to win the toss and make it count. Un­fortunately, he did not. The next time round, he should carry the Sholay coin with him for that’s the only way he can change his toss record. Batting first in Manchester wasn’t easy and though the Indians did well to score 350-plus, Eng­land just pushed the bar high by scoring 669 in the first innings. India had been outclassed and the only thing possible was a draw. But then it needed some in­credible rearguard action and self-belief. At zero for two, not one Indian sup­porter could believe what was to follow. KL Rahul and Gill stayed firm and bat­ted for five hours without another casualty. Yet again, the team was show­ing fight. After the two were dismissed, Washington Sundar and Jadeja, who had both been stellar, scored hundreds and saved the day for India. In doing so, they had sent England a stern message. This wasn’t a team that would give up at any point. England had thrown everything at India and still had not managed to win. For them and for Stokes, Manchester was a huge blow. India was going into the Oval with all the momentum. All of a sudden, the dream of finishing the series 2-2 was still alive.

Finally, the Oval. It all went sour with the ugly spat between Gambhir and pitch curator Lee Fortis. In hindsight, it wasn’t a bad thing for India as it riled the entire team. They found new purpose and this was way more than a cricket match. Once more Gill lost the toss and India folded up for 224. When England had raced to 109-1 at lunch on Day 2, it looked dire. But as has been the story all series, somehow India cobbled together the zeal and the courage to come back. And it was that man, Mohammed Siraj, who led the way. Six wickets in a session and England were done for 247. India believed. Siraj believed and, with him, all of us continued to be­lieve. A brilliant second innings batting effort meant England were left with 374 to chase down in the final innings and the finale had been wonderfully set up.

I have to say that I believed it was India’s game to win. You cannot not defend 374 on a surface where there was assistance. But again, for a while I was about to be proved wrong. England had raced away to 301-3 and I was about to start writing my series review. How wrong I was! We had intense drama in store and finally on the fifth morn­ing, Siraj led the team to one of its greatest victories. This has been pure magic for all of the 25 days. A series to remember, and a series worth covering. And yes, India goes back a gun team that can only get better.

BeckenhamBen StokesIndian cricketMohammed SirajOval StadiumShubman GillTest against England