India’s twin wins in the series: India had won a historic series against Australia at the start of the year. They then went on to beat England (3-1) at home. India had earned the tag of being the most complete Test team of the era. They suffered an aberration in the WTC Final against New Zealand. India lost a low-scoring game in three days. It was the start of the three-month-long tour against England.
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We look at India’s twin wins in the series:
#1 The owning of Lords
India in all fairness was the better side in the first Test. If not for rain intervention, they were well placed to take a 1-0 lead in the 5-match series. The action shifted to Lords for the second Test. India was put into bat in challenging conditions. The openers put on a mighty fine stand to negate the advantage. KL Rahul scored a brilliant century and India posted a score of 364. Joe Root scored a century of his own and took England to 391 securing a 27-run lead.
The Bumrah-Anderson saga:
There were a lot of verbal volleys at the end of England’s innings. Jasprit Bumrah bowled an 11-ball over to James Anderson. He directed a short ball barrage at the veteran. Anderson wasn’t pleased being at the receiving end. He said a handful to Bumrah when the two sides stepped back to the pavilion. The heat was on!
India stuttered, steadied, and exploded:
Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli were dismissed with the score reading 55-3. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane then steadied the ship for the side. They took India’s lead close to 150 but the job was just half done. India lost 8 wickets with just a lead of 180 odd on board.
England targeted Bumrah and Mohammad Shami with short balls and verbal volleys. Bumrah didn’t take it lying down. Indian team on the balcony kept cheering for every single run scored. Shami brought up his fifty while Bumrah played an able ally.
The feeling of hell for 60 overs:
India set England a target of 270 in 60 overs. Kohli asked the side to make the home team feel like hell for the next 60 overs. It was the first time when someone saw an Indian captain being so blatantly aggressive. The side responded to their captain’s call. India destroyed England with all their pacers chipping in with wickets. The victory roar at Lords still reverberates the strongest!
#2 The Oval saga:
India was once again put into bat under testing conditions at the Oval in the fourth Test. The series that was tied 1-1 heading into this Test had all the makings of a great contest. India appeared to be in the doldrums in the first innings with the scoreboard reading 7-127. Shardul Thakur then pulled out a special knock scoring 57 runs off just 36 balls to take India to 191. England with contributions from their middle order scored 290. The 99-run lead appeared massive!
Rohit Sharma’s coming of age as a Test player:
A century had deserted Sharma in both the first two Tests. He was keen to make amends in the fourth one. Sharma scored a memorable century in the third innings to set up the platform for the side. Rishabh Pant, Thakur, and Umesh Yadav piled up the misery to help India to a match-winning lead of 367 runs. England had four sessions to survive.
India’s method to the madness:
The England openers batted without any signs of discomfort for the first 40 overs. A draw seemed inevitable at this moment. Enter Shardul Thakur. He prised out Rory Burns and gave India an opening. Ravindra Jadeja then picked out the other opener to set the wheels in motion. England panicked and lost their third wicket to a run-out. India sensed blood and went for the kill.
The visitors conquer London:
Jasprit Bumrah bowled an inspired spell of reverse swing bowling to blow away the English middle order. Umesh Yadav returned with match figures of 6 wickets to topple England. India for the first time since 1986 won 2 Tests in a single series in England. The fact that they won both their games at two iconic venues made the win even more special!
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