India vs England, 5th Test: To Hope, or Not To Hope, That Is the Question

India vs England, 5th Test: Surely, you wouldn't hope again. Not after Leeds, not after Lord's. Or, would you?

India vs England, 5th Test: Last day beckons.

(Photo: BCCI/Altered by The Quint)

There are two ways to look at it.

You might choose not to harbour hope — and it is understandable. Why would you?

You had harboured hope when India gave England a target of 371 runs in the first Test at Headlingley. Despite the Dukes ball going out of shape at the drop of a hat, despite the English conditions offering little to bowlers, it remained a steep fourth-innings ask. And yet, England made light work of it.

You harboured it again when India won at Birmingham and walked into Lord’s with belief. The ask was 193. Despite the pitch deteriorating, it should have been chased down. At 112/8, it seemed all hope is lost. Before Ravindra Jadeja inspired belief. Still, India lost.

And you had harboured hope when on the very last delivery of Day 4 of the fifth Test, where Mohammed Siraj came up with just the perfect yorker to uproot Zak Crawley. A target of 374 looked a tad steeper with England’s openers gone.

Chaos, Precisely at the Peak Hour of Law & Order

Yet again, as they have all series, England rallied. Joe Root notched his 38th Test century. Harry Brook brought up his ninth. At 106/3, it seemed that the scales were favouring India. At 301/3, there was no scale. All that was left was the English steamroller.

Except, India, somehow, had still not run out of steam. Shoulders had begun to droop, but a rare miscue from Brook saw him hole out to Akash Deep. The crowd stirred. The fielders moved quicker. Still, it felt cosmetic.

Even that did not do much to India’s confidence, as Bethell and Root prevented a collapse. At Tea, England were 317/4, requiring only 54 runs to secure a 3-1 scoreline, and some significant World Test Championship points. Not much later, the score read 332. Only 42 runs shy of the target.

That was precisely when India sprung back to life, out of seemingly nowhere. Bethell, batting at merely 5 off 30, in complete violation of Bazball terms, saw sense is going ballistics, and lost his wicket in the act of dancing down the track to Prasidh Krishna.

A couple of overs later, Root attempted to play Krishna behind square — a region where he had scored the bulk of his runs in this innings — but edged it to Dhruv Jurel.

England were 337/6. Still, only 37 runs shy. You would not dare hope, would you? Not after Headingley, and definitely not after Lord’s?

Lights Did Not Guide Anyone Home

Fair enough, but what followed next does merit belief. For the next 20 deliveries, English batters could do very little but survive. By the skin of their teeth. Every delivery brought tension. LBW shouts. Edges that missed by millimetres. Pads struck. Stumps threatened. The Oval crowd hung in a breathless hush. Chaos.

The optimists will argue that had play continued, India might have secured another wicket or two, if not the match itself. But the light-meter was deployed, play was initially halted for bad light, and finally, a drizzle ensued.

Chris Martin might have some explaining to do. Lights did not guide anyone home. Unlike the Astronomer CEO though, both India and England will live to fight another day. In a way, this series was always meant to see its 25th day.

Siraj’s Efforts Transcended His 20 Wickets

And are India meant to restore parity? For the runs that Shubman Gill scored on his debut series as the Test captain, and for the knock that Rishabh Pant played with a fractured toe, but also for Mohammed Siraj?

Statisticians will clock Siraj’s England 2025 expedition at 20 wickets, should he not add to it. He will still end up as the leading wicket-taker, but it does very little to accurately portray what he produced over the course of these 25 days. Siraj has bowled 181.2 overs, which is by far the most by any bowler in this series. And he has done so without losing steam. In this innings alone, he’s sent down 26. Still, the speed gun clocked him in the 140s.

The highlights package will regurgitate how he stepped on the advertisement skirting whilst holding on to Harry Brook’s catch, but for now, at least for now, that is not the talking point.

A delighted Morne Morkel, bowling coach of the Indian team, commented:

I’m very happy for Siraj that he’s getting the recognition. He’s a guy in that changing room who will lead the way, he’s a natural leader. Although vocally he doesn’t speak a lot, I think he leads a lot with his actions. In this series, he’s done it with the ball at times when we’ve needed somebody to put his hand up and create something. Even if it was bowling an extra two to three overs or creating an opportunity for us, he’s been that guy. He’s put in the effort, and it’s just nice to see the rewards and today again at the back end, stepping up, getting the support behind the team to lift us in the crucial moments, it’s those sort of smart plays that you need, and for me, Siraj has just been outstanding.

Morne Morkel

Woakes Will Surely Not. Or, Will He?

But only Siraj cannot be credited for his tirelessness. The only other bowler who came close to his workload is a 36-year-old Chris Woakes. In an English side that was spread thin in terms of their bowling expertise, Woakes — who never really has been the showstopper in a team that had the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, much like how Siraj had his ‘Jassi bhai’ as the leader — was relentless.

Relentlessness, though, has nothing to do with miracles. Now, with a dislocated shoulder, he has no part to play in the final day—or so they said. And yet, he was seen taking throwdowns.

Joe Root commented:

He's all-in, like the rest of us. It's been that kind of series, where guys have had to put bodies on the line. Hopefully, it doesn't get to that. But he had some throwdowns in here at one point, and he's ready if needed. He's desperate to do what it takes.

Joe Root

The tragedy of sports is that it is viewed from the lens of absolutes. There is, but no room for what ifs. At 2-2, the discourse will be jubilant. At 3-1, expect a month-long postmortem, for the next cricketing expedition begins on 9 September. Regardless, we can only wait.

In both cases, cricket wins. But in only one, hope does.

You will not hope, will you?