The one-hour madness on Monday morning was the only fitting way for the Oval finale of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy to end. India and England kept trading punches until the very last minute of a fiercely contested series. Neither side truly deserved to lose. Perhaps India did, for the way they fought in Manchester and kept the series alive until the Oval. Perhaps England did, for the bravery Chris Woakes showed when he walked out to bat with a dislocated shoulder.
But in sport, you rarely get what you deserve. There could only be one winner — and it was India. Mohammed Siraj’s heart, perhaps, was bigger than everything else on that frenetic Monday morning. He picked up a five-wicket haul and emerged as India’s undisputed hero.
England vs India, 5th Test Day 5 Highlights
England fell short by just six runs, bowled out for 367 in pursuit of 374. Siraj claimed three of the four wickets to fall on the final morning. Fittingly, it was the warrior himself who stepped up to finish the job — sealing it with a searing yorker.
India levelled the series 2–2 and retained the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
At the start of play, England required 34 runs. India needed four wickets. Perhaps only three — but it had been confirmed that Chris Woakes, despite a dislocated shoulder, would walk out to bat left-handed. It was a fitting end to a series where both sides had pushed themselves to their physical and emotional limits.
The heavy roller was deployed, as expected, with England looking to iron out the up-and-down nature of the fifth-day pitch. Yet, for perhaps the first time in the series, overhead conditions tilted the balance in India’s favour. Under grey skies, the ball moved just enough in that first hour to negate the effect of the roller.
The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy — which has ebbed and flowed, defied predictions, and rewritten scripts — lived up to the hype on its final day. India nearly conjured something extraordinary, defying the odds one last time.
On a gloomy Monday morning, however, India began on the worst possible note. Prasidh Krishna was struck for two consecutive boundaries. A short ball barely rose above the shoulders of the burly Jamie Overton, who pulled it to the mid-wicket fence. Prasidh adjusted his length, settling into the channel, but Overton rode his luck — an inside edge missing the stumps and sneaking past the keeper for another boundary.
– Ends
Tune In
