An excellent series win

It was an excellent series win. There are no two ways about it. Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid and the entire management must be thrilled to achieve this win. Perhaps, under Rohit and Dravid, this is their best performance. I do remember that India reached the ODI World Cup Final but did they win it? No. Hence, this win supersedes that. Under the same duo, India did win one Asia Cup but the competition was no way near to how good England is. There was also the win in South Africa but we just cannot be satisfied with a solitary Test win in South Africa any longer. Every Indian supporter is longing for a series win in the Southern Hemisphere. This was the 3^rd time, the team missed a golden opportunity to win there.

Prior to the start of the series, if someone had said that India would win the series, it would have hardly made heads turn because it was expected. Afterall, this is our home turf where we are the kings. Then came the bigger jolt after Virat Kohli withdrew from the squad for personal reasons. Even at that point, Indians would have believed that we could still win the series but England would not be easily defeated because it is difficult to defeat us in our homeland.

India was always expected to win at home. However, things took a different turn when we lost the first Test. If at that point someone had said that India would still win the series, it would have made heads turn. Here we were at Hyderabad humbled after taking a substantial lead and having allowed the opposition’s worst player of spin to score almost 200. The confidence was shot down and doubts began to creep in.

An England side who have won in Asia

Does this team have the nerve to win against England who had afterall won a series in Pakistan 3-0? The transformed side under McCullum and Stokes proved tough to crack even for Australia who could only draw The Ashes though it was considered an impressive performance by them. Bazball made any score inadequate. Especially, teams were wary of setting a target because this England side under Stokes, has made a mincemeat of such a target. India themselves was at the receiving end a couple of years ago at Edgbaston when Root and Bairstow gave an exhibition of aggressive batting. The lightning batting even made the first-innings score insufficient. The loss at Hyderabad complicated things to the extent that India must have begun to doubt their ability.

Then came the twin blows by way of injuries to Rahul and Jadeja. Rahul has shown a different side of himself in the middle-order. He has suddenly become the man for all occasions. A far cry from his days of being an absolute non-contributor. It was not only their skills that were missed but more importantly, their experience. Suddenly, the top and middle-order wore a look that just did not inspire any confidence. Gill was struggling, Jaiswal is new and yet unproven. Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan and Jurel were all about to make their debut. Things were turning out to be difficult. It will be a miracle even if we manage to draw the series. England with their Bazball play, is a tough side to defeat. Neither the situation of the game nor the composition of the opposition’s bowling attack did anything to perturb their attitude.

Lack of contribution from their stalwarts

Let us also remember that England won in Hyderabad without any contribution from their stalwarts. Joe Root, Johnny Bairstow and Ben Stokes did not contribute to that win. It was because of the belligerence of the opening combination, Ollie Pope, who I think will not play a better innings than at Hyderabad and the journeyman spinner, Tom Hartley. What will happen if their stalwarts too contribute? It could be a walk in the park.

Regained confidence

A lot depended on Rohit Sharma and to a lesser extent Shubman Gill to score for the bowlers to defend but Jaiswal’s brilliant innings, the able support of Gill and the mastery of Bumrah ensured a win but could India maintain the momentum? Can they ensure that the regained confidence is maintained and enhanced further? Probably the back-to-back Tests under severe heat took England’s toll because they are not used to such temperatures.

The 10 days break must have given them a renewed sense of vigour. India this time, was not perturbed. It would be an understatement to state that they bossed the Ranchi Test. England were completely outplayed in all the departments. The result was a record win for India. The nature of the defeat will deflate any side. It will be difficult to recover from such a monumental loss.

England did not. They were only propped by the brilliance of Root and the ability of the Indian batsmen to make things difficult for themselves.

Positives for India

The impressive Yashasvi Jaiswal, the confidence and the calmness showed by Dhruv Jurel, the hard-hitting arrival of Sarfaraz Khan, the return of Kuldeep Yadav whose presence could well have ensured victory at Hyderabad and the decent debut by Akash Deep. Life will only get tougher for them in the coming months and years because opponents will study them closely and will formulate a plan. It remains to be seen how well they perform in the SENA countries. That is where the litmus test will be. Above everything else, it is a massive boost to the confidence that within India, we can still win with youngsters raising themselves to the occasion.

Negative for India

Rajat Patidar. It is sad but it needs to be told. Dharmshala will present him with his final opportunity. Once Kohli and Rahul are back, it is difficult to find a spot for Patidar even in an extended squad. How stupid he must be to have wasted so many chances.

Wrapping up an excellent series win

Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game. Wins and performances in SENA countries is what counted among the best wins and performances. The new players will do well to remember this.