Follow UsIt’s over. It’s done. They’ve done the impossible. From the brink of a humiliating defeat, India have bounced back to post one of the greatest comeback wins in Test history, registering a 6-run victory at The Oval to draw the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2 and walk away with a shared trophy.
And fittingly, the Men in Blue were powered to victory by their undisputed Player of the Series Mohammed Siraj, who took the decisive final wicket of Gus Atkinson, and a five-fer in the fourth innings, to help the team do the unthinkable.
374 was what India had set for England but at 301/3 with Harry Brook on a ton and Joe Root batting on 83, victory looked like a formality for the hosts. It was at that point that Brook threw his wicket away, but even then, England were in firm control of the chase, recovering to 332/4 from there, needing just 42 more to win with six wickets in hand.
From this point, a spirited Indian unit scripted one of the greatest comebacks in Test history to register a six-run win and draw the series.
Bethell’s puzzling knock of 5 (31), where he failed to give strike to the well-set Root, helped India regain momentum. Siraj got the young left-hander bowled and then Prasidh Krishna blew the game wide open by having Root caught behind. England, all of a sudden, were 337/6 and it was India who had all the momentum. But just when it looked like the game had swung in the visitors’ favor, rain halted proceedings on day four.
England breathed a sigh of relief and it was expected that the heavy roller would do its thing in the morning, allowing the hosts to collect the remaining 35 runs without much fuss.
However, in a twist no one saw coming, the 76-over old ball did more than what any ball did during any point in the series, hooping all around. That was too much to handle for Jamie Smith, who departed in the very second over of the day, nicking one to Siraj.
Jamie Overton started the day with back-to-back boundaries off Prasidh Krishna, but he fell in the 80th over, once again to Siraj, getting caught in front of his stumps. England, at this point, needed 20 more runs with just 2 wickets in hand.
Josh Tongue walked in at No.10 and showed some resistance, but his resistance was broken by a searing yorker from Prasidh. 357/9, still 17 more runs needed.
It was at this point one of the most remarkable things ever seen on a cricket field happened as the injured Chris Woakes walked out to bat with one hand. Yes, Woakes walked out to bat with one hand, hiding his left-hand - which has a dislocated shoulder - underneath his shirt.
It was completely on Atkinson to win it on his own from this point.
A six and a leg-bye later, Atkinson brought down the deficit to 10, and then he snuck another two runs an over later to bring the target down to just 8. He snuck another single on the final ball of the next over - bowled by Prasidh - and ensured he was on strike for Siraj’s fifth over of the day, with England two blows away, needing just 7.
As the tension in the stadium reached a crescendo, Siraj, the man who carried India on his back all series, kept his nerve and sent down a sizzling yorker to castle Atkinson and help India do the impossible.
This is India’s narrowest victory in Tests, with the previous being a 13-run win over Australia in Mumbai 21 years ago.
Dare I say, this is up there as one of their greatest wins ever, arguably their greatest of the last two decades, even bettering the Gabba heist in 2021.