India vs England : 4th Test Match at Old Trafford. Day Five :
India vs England : 4th Test Match at Old Trafford.
Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy
The Ultimate Fight-The moral victory
Day Five :
As mentioned at the end of 4th day, a genuine batting display awaits the 5th day, comes true with this wonderful fight back, dedicated performance by India with two down in first over to three Centuries and one ninety by the next four. This hardwork scripted the performance and snatched a well fought draw to redeem the team's morale and move to Oval with that positivity which will give the team to fight back and square the series.
There can be lot of questions in the mind of Ben Stokes as to where he went wrong or where the team lost the grip after those early two wickets; is it the dropped catches of Gill or Jadeja, he himself coming to bowl much later on the 4th day itself or it is some more accuracy missing from his strike bowlers.
Whatever is in the minds of home team the ultimate display of tenacity, perseverance and precision demonstrated by all four gives the feeling of a new Indian team emerging out of the shadows of the greats. Lot of questions are being asked on the right combination but the search of a 2nd genuine all rounder is over; Washington Sundar along with Ravindra Jadeja are the best combination now for Indian Test squad.
The all rounders scoring centuries together, sharing 6 wickets amongst themselves in the 2nd innings speaks of the grit and determination which India just missed at Lords in the 2nd innings.
The hunger to continue was visible when Stokes request to call off the game was politely denied and both went to score centuries. Ben Stokes used his part time bowlers but it didn't stopped them to score and reach their individual milestones. This demonstrated the positivity Indian team was looking for after lot of criticism the team had to go through, with their bowling and batting efforts in the 1st innings and also Sundar being underbowled.
Starting the day it was England taking the upper hand taking two wickets, the ever watchful Rahul missing on his century at 90 runs with Stokes taking the wicket and score was 188 for 3.
However the hero of the Lords Indian 2nd innings was holding fort since he joined after the fall of Gill and now to bat with the promising all rounder Washington Sundar joining him with different ideas and mind set.
From 222 for 4 to 425 for 4, speaks the volume of this new found great partnership both with the bat and the ball. What an innings Jadeja played, leading from the front, guiding his junior partner and inching towards the goal and also for not repeating that touch and go situation at Lords, while losing on partners.
The concentration and application to play each bowler on their merit and strength, never exposing any weakness and working on all opportunities to thwart off any threats was the key for these two hundreds and 200 hundred runs partnership. It seemed both had done their homework and were set to play long innings. The Indian batting might this time has left the English bowlers to search for an answer, which they will have to do before the final game at Oval.
Lot of records and personal milestones were achieved in this test match. The player of the game Ben Stokes becoming the first Captain all rounder to take five wickets and a century in the same game for England. He joins the elite list of Sir Garfield Sobers, Imran Khan.
Stokes became only the third player to complete the double of 7000 runs and 200 wickets in Test cricket. Garry Sobers (8032 runs and 235 wickets) and Jacques Kallis (13289 runs and 235 wickets) are the other two.
Four number of hundreds for Shubman Gill in the series against England (so far), the joint-most by an Indian batter in a Test series. Sunil Gavaskar had four hundreds against West Indies in 1971 and 1978-79, while Virat Kohli also scored four against Australia in the 2014-15 tour.
Gill is also only the third captain with four hundreds in a Test series, following Don Bradman, who scored four against India in 1947-48 and Gavaskar against West Indies in 1978-79.
Gill's four hundreds are also the joint-most by a batter in a Test series in England. Bradman (in 1930) was the only visiting batter with four hundreds in a series in England before Gill.
722 Runs scored by Gill in this series so far. Only Gavaskar has scored more runs in a Test series for India than Gill - 774 in 1970 and 732 in 1978-79; both against West Indies. It is also the joint-fifth-highest tally for any captain in a Test series.
188 the partnership between Gill and KL Rahul for the third wicket is by far the highest third-wicket stand in Tests after being two down for no runs on the board. The previous highest was 105 by Mohinder Amarnath and Gundappa Viswanath against Australia at Melbourne in 1977.
Gill and Rahul batted 417 balls together during their partnership. It is the longest partnership for India in Tests in England since 1998.
Nine Fifty-plus scores for Ravindra Jadeja in Tests in England, all while batting at No. 6 or lower, the joint-most by a visiting player, alongside Garfield Sobers (9). Jadeja and Sobers are the only visiting players with 1000-plus runs at No. 6 or lower in England.
Jadeja also has 34 wickets in England to go along with his 1000-plus run tally. Only two visiting players have taken more wickets while scoring 1000-plus runs in a country - Wilfred Rhodes (1032 runs and 42 wickets) in Australia and Sobers (1820 runs and 62 wickets) in England.
511 Runs aggregated by Rahul in this series so far. He is the first visiting opener to score 500-plus runs in a Test series since Graeme Smith's 714 in 2003. Only Gavaskar among Indian openers (542 in 1979) has scored more than Rahul in a Test series in England.
Four Indian batters aggregated 400-plus runs in this series - Gill, Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Jadeja, the first such instance for them in a Test series. The previous Test series in which four (or more) batters scored 400-plus runs for a team was in 1993, when six Australian batters did so in the Ashes.
Five Left-hand batters with a fifty for in the Test - Yashasvi Jaiswal, B Sai Sudharsan and Pant in the first innings, while Washington Sundar and Jadeja in the second innings only second time in the history of test Cricket.
And Washington Sundar scoring his maiden test hundred. My friend a Cricket expert from India who has followed him from Under 19 days must be a proud man to forecast his future long back.
The absorbing and a great test match comes to an end with many positives achieved even with a draw for the Indian team; turnaround after 1st innings is something which will do a world of good to the team's confidence. This 2nd innings performance will build morale and a positive team culture, strengthening bond between teammates, and fosters a more positive and supportive environment within the team.
This enhanced resilience in the face of setbacks: very well knowing they have achieved success in the past will make the team more affirmative and determined when faced with challenges helping Indian team learn from mistakes and bounce back stronger.
All eyes are now set for the final countdown to begin at Oval from 31st July. Hoping to get live expert feed from my friend in London, who will be covering the match from the ground.
Thank you Subhajit. Unbelievable fight back and a flurry of records for India and Stokes. Honestly, I did not expect such a turnaround. Again dropped catches yet again , this time for England , is the achellis heel. Specialist top class bowlers are yet to be found. We had so many in the last ten - fifteen years to choose from, that we have forgotten it’s not an Indian forte. The board, the selectors and the coach needs to work hard to find and mentor a few.
ReplyDeleteGreat synopsis dear....you are absolutely correct when it comes to set the right chord and get going.
DeleteNice compilation of the records and description of the final day’s play.
ReplyDeleteAfter the initial setback in the first over yesterday, Rahul and Gill steadied the innings showing patience and rotating the strike between them but with the pitch showing uneven bounce, both departed before the end of first session. It was left to Sunder and Jadeja to protect their bastion for the next two sessions. The new ball could not impact the rock solid defence of the two batsmen and odd balls were left without taking risks.
The draw was a great relief for the Indian camp and they will certainly go for the last match with confidence.
With Pant out due to injury, Bumrah most likely to be rested and Kamboj not very effective, there will be few changes in the team.
The playing eleven you have mentioned is the most desired combination, GG and team management will hopefully select the best team for the final match.
Gill has added one more record of becoming the first debut captain in a test series scoring four hundreds.
Great way to sum up the proceedings....thanks a lot for the patient reading.
DeleteWow, so many records broken en route to an amazing draw by Indian batters. The no of balls faced by the Jadeja/Sundar duo surely proves their resolve to save the match.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely dear....thanks.
DeleteIt's one of the rare events we witnessed last night - India batting out over 5 sessions to save a test match - the last such memorable performance perhaps being Sydney in 2021. But the elation of the stupendous performance by Jadeja and Washington shouldn't distract from the fact that our bowling cupboard is bare - how fit will Arshdeep and Akashdeep be in 4 days - and can Siraj bring out his best in the absence of a rather off colour Bumrah! And can Gambhir rise above his obstinacy and select Kuldip for the sake of Indian cricket! The latter also will be under tremendous pressure, if chosen, to prove himself after being ignorer in the first 4 tests! We shall all know in just 4 days time - and off course will the coin again land in Stokes' favour?
ReplyDeleteExcellent summing up dear...🙏
DeleteGreat fight back, hats off to Jadeja and Washington Sundar. I really couldn't expect when India lost 4 wickets.
ReplyDeleteJadeja had again proved to be a great fighter in a sure defeat
Yes a great fightback.
DeleteWell Summed up with all the statistics. Yes, I also expect your mentioned playing xi to play in the final test .
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteAs usual wonderful precised coverage of the game which I call WORDS PAINTING.
ReplyDeleteYou should have been little more agressive on the dirty play attempted by the England captain to prevent the visible and expected joint centuries.
True should have mentioned the Unsportsmanlike attitude displayed by England Captain.
DeleteWell written. One of the greatest fight back by India. Feeling sorry for Rahul as he missed 2 centuries surely.But we need to dominate and we require much better bowling performance from our bowlers. Let's hit them back in their own backyard. Come on boys cheer up. Missed this match as I was out of country but will be back to support our team for the last. If there is any chance of wicket deteriorating let's bring in Kuldeep. And hope this time Gill wins the toss.
ReplyDeleteRightly said
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