London: Not much was expected out of Shubman Gill and his team when they landed in England roughly two months ago. Five fiercely fought Tests later, the relatively inexperienced bunch not only exceeded expectations, it also gave a fine blueprint for the future.
In the words of two captains, Gill and his rival number Ben Stokes, 2-2 is probably a fair result after a 45-day slugfest. The two games that India lost, the series-opener at Leeds and the third Test at Lord’s, could have easily gone the other way around but those are the learnings that the players would take back home.
The times Gill and his men looked down and out, specifically Lord’s, Old Trafford and The Oval, they refused to give up and on two occasions made a gladiatorial comeback that would aptly sum up the spirit of this team.
PTI looks back at the iconic moments of the series and the contributions of the players who came of age during the series or are returning home wiser.
Captain Gill’s giant impact
Young leaders would dream of what Gill managed to achieve in his first series as Test captain. Having not done well in English conditions during past outings, there was a major question mark over his abilities as a batter, not to forget as captain.
Gill needed to earn the respect of the dressing room and he did that with a stellar 147 in his first innings of the tour.
Having made a few technical and mental adjustments, Gill took his game to the next level and what followed was a double hundred and a hundred in the emphatic win at Edgbaston.
Gill had his issues against the incoming ball but he found a way to deal with them. After the low returns at Lord’s, Gill came up with his most significant knock of the tour — a match saving 103 in Manchester. In the end, he aggregated a staggering 754 runs in 10 innings.
Gill came of age as a batter but as captain, he knows he remains a work in progress.
On Monday, he was lauded for keeping the fielders in the deep with England nine down and 17 runs away from the target. He also kept it simple by not taking the new ball when the old one was aiding Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna.
Siraj throws workload management out of window
Mohammed Siraj, the only fast bowler on either side to play in all five Tests, fittingly took the final wicket of the series at The Oval and ended up as the leading wicket taker with 23 scalps.
With the peerless Jasprit Bumrah not around for two Tests due to workload management, Siraj rose to the occasion. Like opposition captain Ben Stokes, he put his hand up when a few extra overs needed to be bowled to maintain pressure.
Questions over Bumrah’s fitness will remain and his future in the longest format is unclear. But trust Siraj to be around to nurture the new crop of pacers.
In the words of bowling coach Morne Morkel, India need a batch of five to six fast bowlers to be ready for the physically punishing assignments of England and Australia.
Ravindra Jadeja excels
Jadeja’s exploits flew under the radar when the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were around. With the superstars now retired, Jadeja had to make up for the inexperience in the batting department.
With 516 runs in the middle order including five fifties and a rearguard hundred at Old Trafford, the 36-year-old ended up having a series to remember.
In case of a collapse, Jadeja stood in the middle like a rock, averaging the highest among the Indian batters with four not outs in the series.
Tempers flare: Last over on day three at Lord’s
The series will be remembered for its highly competitive nature. The first two Tests were played in a relatively incident-free environment but with stakes getting higher, on-field tensions between the two team added to the spice.
The most significant of those moments was Jasprit Bumrah’s final over at Lord’s on day three.
Captain Shubman Gill asking Zak Crawley to grow some **** and the whole team sarcastically clapping at the England opener for delaying the proceedings will forever be talked about in the context of India-England rivalry.
On-field tensions became the norm after that incident including at Old Trafford where Stokes showed his frustration at India choosing to bat in the mandatory last 15 overs of the day despite draw being the only possible result.
Pant and Woakes’ iconic acts of bravado
What also lifted the profile of the series was the iconic acts of heroism from Rishabh Pant and Chris Woakes.
While Pant came out to bat with a fractured foot to add crucial runs in the first innings in Manchester, Woakes, already ruled out of the game due to a shoulder injury, came out to bat on day five of the final Test with the series on the line.
His left hand was tied with a sling and he was in no position to bat but he was still out there fighting for his team, summing up the intensely competitive environment of the series.
Rahul’s reliable presence at the top, Washington on track
The most assured batter on either side of the dressing room was undoubtedly K L Rahul. In majority of his innings, he put up a masterclass of batting in English conditions. He played the ball late and close to his body, frustrating the bowlers with his water tight technique.
Besides Gill and Jadeja, he was the other Indian batter to tally more than 500 runs in the series including two hundreds.
In the lower-order, the poise of Washington Sundar stood out and he also made a telling contribution with his off-spin in Manchester.
India remained firm on having batting till eight and Washington ensured the team did not have to move from its chosen path.
His gutsy hundred alongside Jadeja to save the game at Old Trafford sealed his place in the eleven for the foreseeable future and at The Oval, he showed he can seamlessly shift to attacking when required.
