The Indian Cricket team registered a famous come-from-behind victory against England on the final day of the ongoing fifth test match at the Oval to level the Tendulkar – Anderson trophy. What appeared to be an improbable turn around when England batsman were coasting in the chase culminated into a memorable win with a narrow margin of 6 runs.
Needing just 35 runs to end the series on a high, the England team floundered the chase and fell short by the tiniest of margins in Test cricket, thanks to the inspiring spell of Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna who took 9 scalps between them. At one stage, England appeared to eclipse the mammoth target of 373 runs in canter with Joe Root and Harry Brook toying the Indian bowling attack. When the partnership was broken after the dismissal of Brook, who hit a quick fire century, England needed just 70 odd runs for victory with 6 more wickets in hand.
Indian bowlers showed great resilience and determination to script a historic victory on the final day to avoid an embarrassing series loss. In the first innings also, it was the spectacular performance of the bowlers which helped India restrict England to just 247 runs after a blazing start in reply to its 224 runs. Indian batters made amends in the second innings and score a massive 396 runs due to the contribution of Yashaswi Jaiswal and support from Jadeja, Akash Deep and Washington Sundar.
Chasing 373, England batsman adopted their typical ‘Bazball’ stategy and appeared in full control of the game until the Indian bowlers orchestrated a stunning heist to square the series. Mohammed Siraj was named the Man of the Match for his heroics. Indian captain Shubman Gill shared honour with Harry Brook as Player of the Series. What looked like a sure defeat turned into a surreal victory to end the series on a positive note.
