New Delhi: Under the waning summer light of London, India scripted one of its narrowest Test match wins—an enchanting six-run victory—thereby ending the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in a 2-2 draw.
“That is the best five-match Test series I have ever been a part of and witnessed,” England head coach Brendon McCullum told Sky Sports. “It just oscillated so much right throughout the six weeks and I felt it had everything. I thought there was hostility at times, camaraderie at times, great cricket at times, there was some average cricket because of the pressure they were put under… I think 2-2 was a fair reflection.”
The result is beyond a mere win—it was a collective effort that resulted in India pushing back the English batsmen on the final day at The Oval. As the heroes including pacer Mohammed Siraj bask in the glory, ThePrint looks at some of the defining moments of the five days of nail-biting cricket.
Day 1: Karun’s grit in stop-start chaos
The decider in the series began with rain and tension. India went through a stop-start first day. Karun Nair played a gritty 52* at stumps on Day 1, eventually adding five more runs to finish on 57 on Day 2. This marked the end of a 3,149-day wait for a fifty in Tests since Nair’s famous triple century in 2016.
Josh Tongue dished out two near-impossible in-swingers to claim the wickets of Sai Sudharsan (38) and Ravindra Jadeja (9), earning the applause of slip-fielders. A bittersweet moment for Shubman Gill followed: shortly after he breached the 47-year-old record of most runs by an Indian in an England series set by Sunil Gavaskar, he was run out for 21. Dhruv Jurel fell cheaply and soon the tails were up in the England camp.
By stumps, India were 206/6 with Washington Sundar (19*) quietly backing Nair.
Day 2: Atkinson’s fiver & India claw back
England dominated the morning session as medium pacer Gus Atkinson claimed his maiden five-wicket haul (5/33) wrapping up India for 224. However, the bowlers showed their resistance and turned things around for India.
Siraj struck with aggression to dismiss stand-in captain Ollie Pope (22), who exchanged words as he walked back. Akash Deep sent off Ben Duckett (43) with great animated celebrations. Prasidh Krishna then removed two batsmen before the tea interval and tilted the scales at 215/7 in favour of India.
Though Duckett and Zak Crawley stacked up 50 runs in just seven overs, the middle order could do little more than sustain the resistance. By stumps, India had overcome the first‑innings deficit and built a 52‑run lead, reaching 75/2 thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal’s composed, unbeaten 51.
Day 3: Jaiswal’s ton & a target of 374
Young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal set the tone with a sublime 118 off 164 balls. Then the Indian dressing room saw an eruption of joy thanks to the nightwatchman Akash Deep pulling off a maiden Test fifty (66), as head coach Gautam Gambhir applauded from the balcony.
Shubman Gill, 11, fell to Atkinson after lunch. Ravindra Jadeja (53) and Dhruv Jurel (34) took the score to 304/6 at tea. The lower order was cleaned up by Tongue, who ended with a five-wicket haul. India posted a total of 396.
England began with a positive frame of mind but ended the day on the back foot with Siraj bowling a perfect yorker to dismiss Zak Crawley for 14. There was drama earlier as Crawley had backed away as the Indian pacer began to bowl. England were 50/1 at stumps with 324 more to go.
Day 4: Root, Brook hold fort
On a rain‑affected fourth day, England staged a comeback. Harry Brook’s assertive 39-ball-fifty and Joe Root’s authoritative century completely turned the game proceedings; their partnership brought England within arm’s reach of a series win.
Akash Deep provided relief by dismissing Brook, and later Prasidh Krishna struck a huge blow by removing Root just before bad light halted play. As the match seemed to have slipped away. But bad light — and eventually rain — brought a halt to the play as England remained on the cusp of victory, with just another 35 runs needed with four wickets in hand.
Day 5: The spell of a lifetime
On the final day, the odds were against India as four wickets were needed to salvage a draw. Enter Siraj. He sent back Jamie Smith in his very first over. Jamie Overton offered a brief resistance but was trapped leg before wicket. Prasidh Krishna complimented by bowling a yorker to dismiss Josh Tongue.
An injured Chris Woakes had to stride out to the pitch. Atkinson bravely hit a boundary, but Siraj had more in store. He uprooted the off-stump of Atkinson for a famous win, and registered his fifth five-wicket haul in Tests. England fell six runs short in a fitting end to the five-match Test series.
“I woke up at 6 am, took this and put it as my wallpaper (a picture of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo). I thought I could do it. We had momentum yesterday. Soch rahe the kal hi niptaane ko (We were thinking of finishing it yesterday itself),” the Indian seamer said in a post-match media briefing.
Sana Felix is an alum of ThePrint School of Journalism, currently interning with ThePrint.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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