India vs England Test Series — The Kids Are Alright

India vs England Tests: Resentment is natural. So is revisionism. But Edgbaston showed that the kids are alright.

India vs England, 2nd Test: India won the second Test to level the series.

(Photo: BCCI)

Until yesterday, India had flirted with a Test victory at Edgbaston only once. Chasing a target of 236, India were 174/5 in the summer of 1986. With Mohammad Azharuddin and Kiran More batting, and Kapil Dev waiting in the wings, India had nearly secured the win, until rain spoiled their party.

In that same match, Chetan Sharma so nearly became the first Indian to claim a 10-wicket haul in England in a winning cause.

On that same tour, India nearly had their maiden 300-run Test victory against England on their soil. Mike Gatting denied them.

Many summers later, in 2004, Sachin Tendulkar nearly became the first Indian to score a Test 250 outside the subcontinent. Against Australia, in Sydney. Yet, captain Sourav Ganguly declared when Tendulkar was batting on 241.

Eight years down the line, Virat Kohli nearly became the first Indian Test captain to score 250 against England. He fell short at 235.

Even as recently as 2021, India stood on the verge of a landmark win against a SENA nation without both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, before Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel clung on to save New Zealand.

A Psychotic's Fantasy

You’d have to be wildly optimistic to believe all these ‘nearlies’ would finally find closure in a single Test. To think it would happen under a 25-year-old captain, with no Kohli, no Rohit, no Ashwin, no Bumrah, while trailing 0-1 in the series? That would sound like a psychotic’s fantasy.

Except, that is exactly what happened at Edgbaston. In a match that will be written about, spoken about, shown and reminisced for years to come, akin to the famous Gabbatoir breach, India defeated Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s England. Had the paragraph concluded here, it would not seem like a moment worth of being called momentous. Except, the margin of victory was 336 runs — India’s highest-ever margin, in terms of runs, in an away match.

In the first Test, India had contrived to lose from a position where most teams would have cruised. England chased down 350 on the final day — with alarming ease — against a fully fit Jasprit Bumrah.

Coach Gautam Gambhir knew the storm that would now gather over his young captain. He tried to shield him: “We win together, we lose together,” Gambhir said, with a conviction that almost felt rehearsed.

Shubman Gill — Leading by Example

Indeed, a team loses together in cricket, but the foundation victory — in Test cricket, especially — has to emerge from a singular place. And it did, on this occasion, from the captain.

Edgbaston’s surface was so flat it could have passed for Multan, if only you could dismiss the AQI and ambience aesthetics. Understandably so, 211/5 — the position India found themselves in on Day 1 — was underwhelming. The brittle tail, despite Washington Sundar’s inclusion, inspired little confidence.

500 would have been ideal. 400 would have been half-decent. Anything below that — catastrophic.

India scored 587. And 45.9% of those runs — 269, which happens to be the highest by an Indian captain in Test cricket — was scored by Gill. More impressively, with a control percentage north of 90%. And with false shots so rare you could fit those into a YouTube short.

Welcome to the Deep End, Akash

The easiest way of gauging a team’s bowling problems is to see if they are as jubilant as a score of 587 deserves. India weren’t. England had scored 838 runs for just 15 wickets in Leeds. And there was no evidence to suggest the pitch was deteriorating.

The only window where the bowlers were in play was when the cherry was it its red-dest. Once it softened — a problem now afflicting the Dukes at an alarming rate — bowlers were at the mercy of the batters’ faltering stamina and misjudgements.

Gill did not have the B-card. Instead, he had a bowler who had only played seven Tests, and none of those were in England. Come the end of the match, Akash Deep would be only the second Indian to pick up 10 wickets in a Test match, and the first to do so in a losing cause.

Where he excelled, and his English counterparts couldn’t, was the use of crease. The batters found themselves at the deep end (intended pun, but already overused) whilst trying to judge the line of the ball. And whilst variations is not a word frequented in Test analysis, Deep used it to his advantage in terms of the release point — sometimes tight to the stumps (as with Ollie Pope in the first innings), sometimes wide (as with Joe Root in the second). The angle was coupled with tight lengths, which was found wanting from the Indian bowlers in the first Test.

Poignantly, he dedicated the victory to his sister, who has been diagnosed with cancer.

I have not spoken about this with anyone but two months back, my sister was diagnosed with cancer. She will be very happy with my performance and this will bring some smiles back. Every time I picked up the ball, her thoughts and picture crossed my mind. This performance is dedicated to her. I want to tell her, 'Sister, we are all with you.'

Akash Deep

Honourable Mentions

Deep wasn’t alone. Mohammed Siraj, now the leader in Bumrah’s absence, picked up 7 wickets and mentored his junior throughout.  That aside, now playing as the de-facto bowling leader in Bumrah’s absence, he was constantly in Deep’s ears throughout the Test. Interestingly, what he preached so compellingly is the very virtue he often fails to practice — bowl in one channel, avoiding unnecessary experiments while chasing wickets.

The coaching staff deserve their flowers. For resisting the temptation to pick Arshdeep Singh for the sake of left-arm seam variety, backing Deep instead, who was ahead at the pecking order, For recognising the weakness in batting, and strengthening it with Sundar’s inclusion, who scored 54 runs and dismissed Stokes in England’s second innings.

Work in Progress, But Progress in Work

And having already spoken about the batter that is Gill, he should also be credited for his captaincy. Nasser Hussain rightfully called out India’s ‘captaincy by committee’ antics in Leeds. Whilst Gill will require all the help he can be provided with, he was a man of his own here, dictating terms and sticking by those.

Channeling some of his predecessors, he did not shy from a dig at an English journalist, who had reminding him about India’s atrocious record at Edgbaston prior to the match.

I can’t see my favourite journalist?! Where is he? I was hoping to see the one who asked about India's record at Edgbaston. I don't really believe in history and stats. Over the last 56 years or so, we've played nine matches. I believe we are the best team to have come here in England, and we have the capability to beat them, to win the series from here. If we keep making the right decisions and keep fighting, I think it would be one of the series to remember. There were a lot of questions if we would be able to take those 20 wickets. And the way these two guys delivered was just outstanding. I have no words to describe.

Shubman Gill

The Kids Are Alright

Resisting change is natural. So is revisionism. Time But time, the great healer, is also a ruthless eraser. Soon, the resentment and revisionism will vanish. It always has.

In England, some six decades ago, the ‘Mod Movement’ was on the rise. A youth-driven, somewhat rebellious, modernist subculture, challenging the tides of resistence. Having been met with the same resentment and revisionism, the youth found themselves an anthem in a The Who song.

That anthem fits this Indian team perfectly.

The Kids Are Alright.