By recording an emphatic win at Chepauk in the fifth test, Team India turned the tables to its advantage and cooked the goose of English side in the process. The way the series progressed and how the Indian Team made a match of each test is a history now. It all started at Rajkot, when Kohli’s side forced a draw against all odds after losing first four wickets in a heap. Instead of forcing a facile win England team lacked penetrative bowling and paid heavy price for the same as they could not come up in level terms after that moment again in the test series. The hallmark of the historical win was captain Kohli and key spinner in the side R. Ashwin. Kohli hit 655 runs and was adjudged the man of the series. Ashwin was the Man of the moment with 28 scalps and his batting came handy during trying times. With over 300 runs and bagful wickets in his kitty, he carried the weight as the most prolific all-rounder. While Team India retained the number one spot, Ashwin consolidated his position as a leading all-rounder. Ravindra Jadeja played a supportive role and his 10 wicket haul at Chennai proved that he is an admirable foil to Ashwin as wicket taker. The feature of the series is the coming of age of debutants. Both Karun Nair and Jayant Yadav made their presence felt in a big way alongside KL Rahul and Murali Vijay and for England openers Keaton Jennings and Haseeb Hameed stood firm in the wake of top order batting failure. In all it was a historic victory and England side faltered to deceive in the end.
Anandambal Subbu
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
